


In which Hajime Hinata isn't a complete moron- The Fic: Komahina edition

by attakaikukkii, LadygoldLoZ



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: A tiny Gundam Gundham, Bonding over food, Coconut Shampoo, F/M, Fish Facts, Freeform, Fuyuhiko is SHSL couple's counselor, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Multi, Nagito Komaeda's luck cycles, Nagito's tragic backstory is even more tragic, Probably a suicide attempt later, RP format, Re-telling of the killing game, This Is Fine, but she doesnt live there so she doesnt count, but with gays, canon-divergence, dont drink the potentially poisoned water, guaranteed ooc everyone, incredibly shitty murder mystery, lowkey hate against american food, mentions of rape/non-con, nagito is tied up in the beginning, not bondage, nothing explicitly smutty, one is, probably OOC everyone, scubadiving- freeform, shitty rp, the authors are not american, we have no idea where this is going, we totally didn't forget Nekomaru I swear, we wrote this in chemistry class, why did we post this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-07-10 04:12:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 25
Words: 120,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15941555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attakaikukkii/pseuds/attakaikukkii, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadygoldLoZ/pseuds/LadygoldLoZ
Summary: This stinking pile of hot garbage starts with Nagito being tied up after the first case and Hajime being forced to feed him. The first canon-divergence starts when Hajime isn't a complete idiot.Here are some spicy quotes for your interest to be peaked:"Hajime was reluctant to let him stand alone, but he was also not willingly entering a bathroom with Nagito Freaking Komaeda.""Are you claiming that toast isn't food?" he chuckled. "Well, now we know your talent isn't intelligence. If it's edible it's food.""The Americans really love mayonnaise," he said and found a pleasant looking salad head.





	1. Back when we were writing seriously

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is a shitty rp which we decided to publish because it's a bother to scroll through the entire conversation to re-read it.  
> Please read it and motivate us to continue. We also take suggestions on where this hellfire is going because honestly we have no idea
> 
> We also switch between character's every other paragraph so that's a thing because we're lazy and we have homework to do.
> 
> This is not beta-ed. And also written in hangouts. But it's funny, I promise.  
> One of us is actually a good author, the other- not so much.

Hajime sighed as he slowly walked toward the old building. Really, he was way too nice. His skin crawled as he thought about what was in there, what he was about to confront. "You'd better be grateful Mahiru" he muttered as he pushed the doors open and went inside. The place had been completely cleaned since their investigation, but the air still felt suffocating. He could remember walking through these halls, talking and exchanging theories with Nagito. He had seemed so different then, before the trial. Now he seemed to almost radiate darkness as if anyone who dared venture close enough could be infected. As Hajime reached the doors to the dining hall he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come.

Inside the nearly pitch black room Nagito laid waiting for Mahiru to come back, his only source of light being the bare minimum seeping through the floorboards. His stomach felt like it was being turned inside out and crawling up his throat, he was so hungry. But he deserved this. It was okay, after all, he'd let the Ultimates go through so much despair and every time they looked at him he'd just fill them with more. It would've been better if someone ass worthless as the earthworm he was had just died instead of Byakuya. The other had been so hopeful into the very end to save everyone. He was truly nothing compared to a person as amazing as the ultimate. 

He squirmed to turn sides, his blood circulation to his arm was being cut off and his nausea wasn't getting any better from it. Nagito sighed as he battled the urge to throw up from hunger. Mahiru probably wouldn't come back, she'd just leave him there to starve. It's what he deserved after all.

"H-hey Nagito? Are you here?" Hajime squinted against the pitch blackness. Had Nagito really spent an entire day in this darkness? A stream of light from the opened door illuminated what Hajime presumed to be Nagito, lying on his side with his arms tied behind his back and chains tying his legs together. Honestly, the number of bindings seemed- excessive to say the least. "Hey, Nagito! Answer me." Hajime really did not want to be anywhere close to Nagito, not after what he'd done to them- To Teruteru and Byakuya. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"-nata-kun!" Nagito looked over his shoulder at him, his voice breaking from not having used them in a while. "I see Mahiru dumped feeding duty on you." he chuckled. "What did you get me? Honestly, I'd eat anything you gave me if you wanted me to. You didn't have to go through this nuisance for someone as pathetic as me. You probably have much better things to do."

Hajime swallowed thickly. Nagito's voice was just like the one he'd used in the trial. Dark, maniacal and a far cry from the cheerful tone he'd used when he'd showed Hajime around the island that first day. "Listen, I didn't come here to talk to you. I'm just delivering this." He placed the plate of toast and the bottle of milk on the ground in front of Nagito. "That's all, I'm leaving now." He crossed his arms, stubbornly looking away from the pale boy on the floor in front of him.

"Hinata-kun, wait!" Nagito called, squirming to try to get himself in an upright position but to no avail. "I can't eat this." he pointed out, face smushed into the ground from his attempt, just a few feet away from where Byakuya had been stabbed repeatedly.

"Okay, hang on" Hajime crouched down and unscrewed the lid from the bottle of milk. Remembering what Monomi had urged him earlier "Don't forget to tell him to chew before he swallows" He broke the toast into smaller pieces, and lined them up on the plate. It would be bad if Nagito choked on it after all. "There, I'm leaving now," He said curtly. Truth be told, seeing Nagito so... helpless, was almost more unsettling than seeing him in the trial had been. Especially when he smiled that serene smile, like nothing in the world was wrong. Hajime shuddered.

"Thank you, this is more than I could ever ask for." he smiled Cheshire-like, and made another attempt to sit up, this time succeeding a bit better with only a hiccup of nausea escaping his lips with along with a grunt. He inched himself closer to the tray and bent down to pick a piece of bread up with his mouth. "What are you still doing here wasting your time on an imbecile like me? You ultimates really are amazing."

Hajime watched Nagito trying to swallow the piece of bread for all of two seconds before he intervened. "Oh- No stop that- that's horrible." The other boy regarded him with surprise as Hajime slowly hooked his arms around his body, moving him into a sitting position with his back leaning against a table. Hajime was surprised at how light the other was, much lighter than a boy in his age should be, but he didn't mention it. "H-here, that should make it easier." He mumbled, avoiding Nagito's awestruck gaze. 

"Wow, you're so kind." Nagito said in pure amazement. "It fills me up with so much hope for the future to see that you're working so hard for someone as horrible as me," he said gratefully, shifting his arms being his back to get comfortable. The uncomfortable silence that followed was soon cut short by his stomach growling. Nagito decided to ignore it.  
"H-hey, aren't you going to eat?" Hajime said, then immediately regretted his words because no, of course, Nagito couldn't eat, his hands were tied behind his back. Hajime lifted the plate and held it up in front of Nagito's face "Here." He said shortly. He knew full well he was avoiding the actual problem, but his fight or flight instincts were working at 100% just from the proximity, and they were telling him to stay as far away from this white-haired lunatic as possible.  
"Thank you." he smiled. "I can manage from here," he said, bending over the plate and maneuvered a piece of toast into his mouth. "Well they say hunger is the best spice," he said after finishing chewing. "You really are too kind, Hinata-kun."

Hinata cringed at those words. "You know what Komaeda, shut up and eat." He didn't need Nagito's self-deprecation distracting him on top of everything else that occupied his mind. Not to mention that strange game... Could something like that really be a motive?  
The boy shut up immediately, obeying Hajime immediately and fumbled with another piece of toast. Once finished with that too he opened his mouth to speak but went for a third bread piece instead. The only sound filling the room was Nagito's quiet chewing and the chains rustling at the slightest shift in pose.

They sat there on the floor for quite some time, until Nagito had finished the entire piece of toast. Only now did Hajime realize that he'd forgotten the butter and jam that Mahiru had brought along with it, but Nagito hadn't complained so he guessed it was fine. "Are you thirsty, Komaeda?" He asked, reaching for the bottle of milk.  
Nagito nodded, wanting to thank him again but didn't want to bother, so instead, he just waited and hoped Hajime's eyes had adjusted well enough to the darkness to be able to see his actions.

Hajime lifted the bottle of milk to Nagito's parted lips, tilting it slowly allow the other boy to drink. When Nagito had drained about half of the bottle, he was overcome by a sudden coughing fit, and Hajime had to remove the bottle. Nagito coughed and wheezed, milk dripping down his cheeks and staining Hajime's shirt. Hajime gripped his shoulders tightly. "What the hell?" he demanded harshly. "Dammit, you got milk all over my shirt!"  
The white-haired boy gasped for air after his coughing fit. "I'm so sorry Hinata-kun, I'm sorry, let me clean it up! But you probably don't want that either, I can't do anything right not even drink milk or keep quiet when told." he sighed biting his lip and going back to being selectively mute and inched back against the wall to let the last coughs escape.

Hajime sighed. "Don't worry about it" Nagito's self-deprecation soliloquies always unsettled him, in part because they cause him to feel somewhat sorry for the other. "Anyway, I'm going to go now. Do you want me to turn the light on before I go?" He spoke quickly, wanting to just be done with it as soon as possible. This encounter had left him with a lot on his mind, which was exactly what he'd been afraid of. He didn't want to give Nagito any more time to worm himself into his head.  
"Whichever you prefer~" Nagito grinned. "After all, you're the Ultimate. Just let hope guide your heart to the answer," he said, muting his coughs as much as possible. "But if you want to kill me later it might be better if you left the lights on for now so that I can dry up as much milk as possible for you."

Hajime growled in frustration. This. This was exactly the reason why he'd wanted to leave. "No. No way. Not doing this with you, no way in hell." He walked over to the light switch and punched it, perhaps with a little more force than strictly necessary. "There. Don't expect me to come back" He said sharply and walked to the exit.  
"Hinata-kun! Wait, if you're going to do that at least let me help!" Nagito exclaimed, quickly closing his eyes at the sudden sharp light. "You don't want to keep me here if you're gonna leave me to starve, it'd be better if you found a cave by the beach or somewhere. That way the body won't be found for long!" he hollered after him, his eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room.

Hajime sighed in exasperation. "For the last fucking time Komaeda, nobody is going to kill you. You're not going to starve, stop being so dramatic." Hajime could feel his voice rising higher in frustration, and he could feel the tidings of a headache. Why was Nagito so, so- He couldn't even think of a proper adjective. "Listen, I'm not saying nobody will bring you food, okay? I'm sure there are plenty of people on the island who'd be willing to help you. You're not going to die, nobody else will. Not anymore, since you can't orchestrate another murder." He hissed the last part through gritted teeth.  
"Ah, out of everyone here I hoped that you'd get it, Hinata. I see I was wrong," he said with a disappointed sigh.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hajime spat. He was very quickly losing the last scraps of his patience, but he had to know what Nagito meant. Maybe he had a plan that would end with somebody dead again, Hajime wouldn't put it past him to try to manipulate someone else the way he'd done Teruteru.

"I just want to see you all embodying hope as ultimates, and what better way to show off your shimmering hope other than to put you through despair?" Nagito said, the deranged smile of his from the class trial coming back.  
The words made Hajime's skin crawl, and the gleeful expression on Nagito's face made it even worse. His deranged gaze captured Hajime's and he dared not look away from those dark eyes, swirling with mania and despair. Hajime swallowed thickly, feeling a rising panic in his chest. "You- You're crazy. Absolutely insane" He stammered, pressing himself against the door. His fear was irrational since Nagito was tied up and in no physical condition to hurt him in any way, but that didn't cause Hajime's heart to stop hammering in his chest. "Someone will be by with lunch and dinner for you," He said hurriedly as he exited the room, falling to his knees and catching his breath once on the other side.  
As soon as Hajime left, Nagito decided to fall to the floor and just wait. The harsh light shine into his eyes and so he decided to inchworm his way under the table to sleep.  
Hajime left the old building with Nagito's words echoing through his mind. He kept busy the entire day, spending time with many of his classmates. But in between talking about fluffy animals with Peko and learning how to headbang with Ibuki, he couldn't forget Nagito, lying on the ground in the old building. "I just want to see you all embodying hope as ultimates!" Hajime had been playing their conversation back in his head all day, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He'd told Nagito that he wouldn't be back anymore, but he was feeling tempted to go back and demand some answers. The Monokuma announcement had played not long ago, so Hajime knew that the time was around 22:00. He hadn't talked to anyone else about his conversation with Nagito, and he suddenly wondered if he'd even gotten any more food that day. Suddenly, Hajime became worried. Nagito had been frighteningly light to carry, maybe that was because of malnutrition? He had promised himself to not go back, but he couldn't let Nagito starve either. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door to his cottage, intending to stop by the supermarket and then bring some food to the old building. 

By now Nagito really had to go. The little milk he'd had this morning had passed right through and he /really/ had to go. On top of that he was bored so by now he laid trying to inch his way out of the dining room towards the bathroom, hoping the chains wouldn't get stuck on something. His hunger had surpassed the painful phase by now and now he just felt hollow  
Hajime pushed the door to the old building open with his elbow, narrowly avoiding dropping the items he cradled in his arms. He'd brought a bag of oranges, as well as more bread (This time he'd also remembered to bring butter and jam) and a bottle of water. He'd wanted to bring something more filling, but had reasoned that it would probably be too difficult for Nagito to consume since he couldn't use his hands. The hallways in the old buildings were dark, but harsh light was streaming out from the dining hall door. Maybe turning on the lights had been a bad idea, how was Nagito supposed to sleep like that? Hajime, once again had to elbow the doors to the dining hall open. He pushed them open and stumbled inside, a muffled cry of pain sounding out as he did. "Nagito?" He said into the empty room. He was nowhere near where Hajime had left him. Had Nagito somehow escaped?  
"Present..." He groaned from behind the door, rattling his chains as he rolled over to his other side. "Hinata-kun? What a pleasant surprise."

"N-Nagito?" Hajime gasped. "What were you doing?" He took in the other's appearance. His disheveled white hair was tangled and dirty, and his clothes were way dustier than before. Almost as if Nagito had been rubbing up against something dirty. "What happened to you?" 

"Bathroom." he whimpered and sat up with much struggle. "But I see that would've been impossible since the doors sway this way." he laughed.

The expression on Nagito's face was a far cry for what he'd been wearing last time Hajime left the old building. His inviting smile seemed forced and his eyes were tired. "H-have you gotten any more food today?" Hajime asked slowly, crouching down to place the items he was holding on the floor.  
"Ah no, but it's okay. You guys were probably very busy." he grinned. "I don't even feel hungry anymore. I do really need to use the bathroom, so I don't think you want to be here."

Hajime recoiled in shock. "You mean, you haven't eaten anything more than a toast all day? And you don't feel hungry?" That sounded really bad. Hajime wasn't exactly a health expert, but he knew enough to realize the serious implications of Nagito's words. This couldn't go on, even if Nagito had tempted Teruteru to murder. This was far too cruel a punishment, even for something like that.  
"And half a bottle of milk. Did you wash your shirt?" he asked, holding his breath between his sentences. "I really need to go Hinata-kun, so you probably want to go, unless you're into that."  
What. "What the actual--you know what, that doesn't even matter. Hang on." Hajime walked around Nagito, moving to untie his arms. "I'm only untying you to go to the bathroom, got it?" He said firmly.  
"Whatever you say." he smiled, relieved to finally get his hands untied. After spending almost 24 hours with his arms behind his back his shoulders hurt quite a bit.

Hajime moved down and struggled to unwrap the chains around Nagito's lower half. They were wrapped so firmly, Hajime was certain they had left bruises. "Okay, here we go. Can you stand?" He asked, backing up as he spoke. Nagito was certainly in no state to attack him, but Hajime wasn't taken any chances.  
"Yeah, one second, sorry to be such an inconvenience," he said, getting up slowly to not faint.  
Hajime watched Nagito try to get up but quickly intervened. He grabbed the other by the wrists, pulling him into a standing position and steadying him with an arm around his waist. Nagito leaned heavily on Hajime, who supported him without any trouble. "Okay, come on" He muttered, supporting the other as they slowly made their way towards the exit.  
Nagito was unusually quiet on his way to the toilet, limping ever so slightly from his bruised ankles.  
By the time they'd reached the bathroom, Hajime was practically carrying Nagito, who was muttering quietly, presumably self-deprecating nonsense. While Hajime would have been annoyed at this before, that had long since been abandoned in favor of concern, Nagito really was way to light, and the fact that he hadn't once tried to exclaim something about Hajime's "grand kindness as an Ultimate" or whatever, was even more concerning.  
"I can manage myself from here." Nagito said, reaching down a foot to go to the bathroom alone.  
Hajime was reluctant to let him stand alone, but he was also not willingly entering a bathroom with Nagito Freaking Komaeda. "Okay, but you can't lock the door- oh and call if you-uh need me."  
"Don't worry, I wouldn't kill myself. Unless you wanted it, of course." he smiled and shut the door after himself.  
"That is so not what I meant" Hajime muttered. He leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door and waited, distracting himself with his thoughts.  
A while later Nagito re-emerged from the bathroom. "Let's go back and chain me up? I would want you getting in trouble over someone like me."  
Hajime cringed at the cheerful delivery. Nagito looked better than before, but he was still leaning against the wall, his skin paler than usual. "Hey Nagito, are you sure you're--you know, okay? When was the last time you ate properly?"  
"Oh? Are you worried about me? That's so kind of you." he smiled. "But to answer your question, the last meal I ate was at breakfast. You were so kind to feed me, remember?" Nagito said sweetly, slowly making his way to the dining hall."  
"Yeah, I meant actual food, more than a toast and half a bottle of milk," Hajime countered, quickly walking after the other, preparing to catch him if needed.  
"Are you claiming that toast isn't food?" he chuckled. "We'll now we know your talent isn't intelligence. If it's edible it's food." he joked.  
"Stop avoiding the question." Hajime grabbed ahold of the back of Nagito's hoodie and turned him around so that they were standing face to face. "Look at yourself" He demanded. "You can barely stay upright, you're obviously not alright, and chances are if you die one of our classmates will be held accountable!" Hajime's voice rose with his frustration. "Now tell me, when was the last time, other than this morning, that you had a proper meal?"  
"Probably the morning before Byakuya stupidly got himself killed, even though I'd gone through all of that work," he said, growling the last through gritted teeth.  
Hajime blinked. "T-that was THREE days ago! Are you telling me you haven't eaten more than a toast for three whole days? What the hell is wrong with you Komaeda?!" Hajime nearly screamed, fear and frustration intermingling in his gut.  
Nagito winced slowly at the raised voice, waiting out Hajime's initial shock. "I've had a few snacks here and there which Soda left me. Plus there are all of the leftovers from Teruteru's meal in the fridge in the kitchen here."  
Right then, Hajime made a decision. He released Nagito's hoodie, but hooked his arm over his shoulders instead. "Right, come on then. I'm making you some actual food." He headed towards the exit, dragging Nagito with him.

"Hinata-kun! Wait, are you absolutely sure you want to risk being seen with me?" Nagito asked worried, following along either way.

"Nagito, do me a favor and shut the hell up please, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure." Hajime hissed through gritted teeth, pushing the exit door Open and stumbling out into the frigid air with Nagito in tow.

"Hinata - wait, slow down, I can't keep up." he said, stumbling over his feet every now and then.

"R-right, sorry" Hajime stopped, allowing Nagito to regain his footing. "Anyway," He continued somewhat sheepishly, "What do you want to eat?"  
"I'll be grateful for whatever you decide to serve." he smiled sweetly and caught up to Hajime.  
"Great, you'll be having fried egg with rice then," Hajime said, ushering Nagito into the hotel lobby. "You think you can handle walking up stairs?" "Oh and don't say yes just to not be a bother, you'll be a bigger burden if I have to treat you because you fell down the stairs."  
"Yeah I can get up, just give me enough time and I'll be there." he smiled, clinging to the railing.  
Hajime eyed him dubiously but went ahead up the stairs. He gathered all the necessary ingredients, suppressing a pang if sadness as he remembered how excited Teruteru had been about the kitchen, and set the stove. As he prepared the ingredients, he wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now? Did he make small talk? What the hell was he supposed to talk about with Nagito Komaeda?  
"Can I help out?" Nagito asked when he came up to the kitchen by the restaurant. "You probably don't want any help from someone as useless as me, I'll only be in the way, but if there's anything I can do, please let me know."  
"Yeah sure, you can rinse this," Hajime mumbled distractedly, pushing a bag of rice into Nagito's arms. His mind was racing, trying to make the situation less awkward.

"Roger that." he smiled, and took the rice sack and placed it on a countertop and dug through the cabinets for an inomata to wash the rice in. "Hinata-kun, look! They have a clay one!" he exclaimed excitedly as he found the inomata.

"Huh, would you look at that." Hajime commented. "Whoever set this stuff up must care about keeping it traditional, even if its more difficult to use." Once again, his mind drifted to Teruteru, wondering if he used this inomata to prepare the party dishes for Byakuya's party. He decided to try something." I'm sure Teruteru would have loved this" He said airily, gauging Nagito's reaction.  
"I guess so. It's a shame he had to go, but a necessary tragedy," he said with a solemn smile. "I wish I could have been the one to go instead so that such an amazing person as Teruteru got to stay alive and amaze us with how he overcame despair. On the other hand, I'm immensely grateful to get to see you all work so hard together." he went on, washing the rice against the ridges of the bowl.

Hajime looked up, suddenly. "You don't get to say that." He started, an accusatory glare meeting Nagito's bright eyes. "Nobody gets to say that they should have died in someone else's stead, that's just going to make it worse. The unsaid words hung in the air between them." That's going to lead to another killing. "  
"It's the truth and you know it. Teruteru was out to kill me and my useless talent decided to make itself present. I should have been the one to die there and you know it, Hajime." he said curtly, pausing his washing while he spoke, just to resume it to fill the silence that followed.

What? No that couldn't be right. Nagito had manipulated Byakuya too get him killed. "What do you mean you were *supposed* to die? Nobody was supposed to die, not until you interfered in the first place!" Hajime hissed, trying and failing to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.  
Nagito chose not to answer to that and kept washing the rice until the grains came out of their shells. "I'm done."

Dammit. Hajime had only heard Nagito use that cold tone once before, during the trial when he'd asked why he'd betrayed them. That tone meant the conversation was over, and Hajime didn't want Nagito shutting himself off like that again. "That was uncalled for. Why don't you sit down? The food is almost ready. " He said slowly, taking the rice from Nagito's hands and pouring it into the already heated water on the stove. It was as close to an apology as he was going to give, and a desperate attempt to change the subject.  
"Anything else I can help with?" he asked, his genuine smile reappearing as he watched Hinata work.  
What? Oh, I guess you could set the table...or something" Hajime answered, taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. A moment ago Nagito had been in full crazy mode, raving about hope and talent and whatever else, but now his serene expression and cheerful tone were back. Hajime really had no idea what the guy was thinking, and that made him very uncomfortable.

Komaeda went over to once again dig through the pantry and reappeared later with two plates and then went in search for cutlery and glasses, setting a table in the restaurant as he deemed fit.  
A little while later Hajime arrived, carrying the prepared food in his arms. He blinked in confusion when he saw the set table. "Why are there two plates?" He asked. "I only made enough food for you, and nobody else is up."

"Ah, I'm sorry for assuming that someone so special as you would ever want to eat with a lowly human like me." he said, chuckling for himself. "Of course you wouldn't eat with scum like me, how stupid of me. I should be grateful enough that someone as generous as you would even think of feeding me. I'm so happy I could cry." he said, clenching his fist as he waited and hoped to be served.  
Hajime sighed. "Listen, I had dinner less than an hour ago. I'm not hungry, and I made this especially for you." He explained slowly, hoping that might make it easier for Nagito to understand. "I don't understand why you need to make everything I do into something negative." He muttered, half hoping Nagito would overhear and get angry. Anything would be preferable to the glowing smile he was wearing right now.  
"Thank you for the food." he smiled, ignoring the muttering from Hajime. There was bound to be displeasure from having to feed trash like himself. He'd already had to carry him all the way here even though he was even more disgusting than usual, not having showered in a while.  
Hajime stood in awkward silence as Nagito ate. His head was spinning, the conversation from before having resurfaced some unwanted memories from before. It was a stark reminder that the Nagito Hajime had known before the first trial was well and truly gone. The happy, funny, caring person who'd stayed behind to wait for Hajime to wake up, simply because he'd looked pale. That person had been nothing more than an illusion. Hadn't it? Truth be told, Hajime was having trouble accepting that fact. He still saw that person sometimes, if only through fleeting glimpses, but it was probably only his imagination. "Hey Komaeda. His voice had uttered the words without his permission. "Why- why did you do it? I don't mean the murder, but why pretend? Why try to trick everyone? I don't see what you gained from it."

"Why trick everyone? I didn't trick anyone though, I just withheld a small part of the ugly truth." He said, pausing his eating. "This was really good, Hinata-kun! As expected of an Ultimate. Maybe your talent is Ultimate Jack-of-all-trades." He joked, trying to once again steer away from the topic. "Besides, it''s not like the reason why matters. I'm just a pathetic human being with a talent as worthless as luck."  
"B-but I want to know." Hajime said dejectedly. Now that he'd started thinking about the issue, he couldn't let it go. "Komaeda, you were the first person I met on this island. I trusted you, I thought we could be friends. Don't you understand that at all?"  
"Really? That's amazing, I might drown from the undeserved honor of someone like you wanting to call me a friend." He said, voice giddy and trembling from joy and he took a shaky spoonful of rice as his heart raced.  
"Just like I thought. You don't understand." Hajime looked into the other's eyes, finding no malice or trickery. Nagito wasn't screwing with him, he really didn't understand. Komaeda, what happened to you? What made you like this? He wanted to ask, but he couldn't. Instead, he changed the subject. "Have- have you ever had a friend before, Komaeda?"  
"Yeah. Back in elementary school I had lots of friends. One day a school shooter came and killed them all though. But it's okay. After that happened I got shot too but I survived and got a huge compensation from the killer. My parents and I went to San Cristóbal after that."  
Hajime had expected the answer to be awful, maybe something along the lines of him never having had any friends or having been abandoned but holy shit. Just the thought of something like that happening to him made Hajime nauseous. Sure, he hadn't exactly had the best elementary school experience either, but no matter how much he'd disliked his classmates, the thought of something like that occurring made his blood run cold. "Holy shit Nagito, I had no idea- I'm so sorry." He breathed, looking at the other with sympathy.  
"It's okay. I had a great time there with my parents." he smiled. "So I guess in the end everything evened out." Nagito shrugged unfazed.  
"W-what? It doesn't bother you at all?" Hajime asked confused. He looked at the boy across from him, eating the food on his plate as if he hadn't a care in the world. And he'd been in elementary school too. Something like that happening, well it was bound to leave someone a bit messed up, right? A wave of great relief washed over Hajime, suddenly making him more relaxed. He finally felt like he understood a small part of the wrapped Riddle that was Nagito Komaeda. Maybe brushing it off was just his way of coping. It didn't seem very healthy, but after going through something like that, who was Hajime to judge. His lips quirked upwards in a small smile. "Hey- thanks for telling me. I feel like I can understand you a bit better now."  
Nagito sat there silently for a while. "I don't think you do." He said curtly and stood up with his plate to clean it up. "Let's go back to the dining hall and lock me up again. Wouldn't want to get caught in the wrath of the other ultimates. That way an unplanned and unnecessary murder might happen."  
"What?" Hajime exclaimed. "What the hell Komaeda?" They'd been having a moment, right? Hajime studied the other, wondering what he'd done wrong. Had he been too forward? Had he scared Nagito away? He'd thought they'd established a connection, hadn't they? Hajime had confessed that he wanted to know more, and Nagito had- rejected him. That really stung for some reason. "Why do you always do this?" He continued, the stinging pain of rejection fueling his irritation. "Whenever I try to talk to you, you just shut me off and start rambling about hope or whatever- why?"  
The cloud-haired boy remained silent as he made his way, still limping ever so slightly from his bruised ankles, into the kitchen, mumbling about how they needed to go back to prevent anything bad from happening.  
"Hey! Why won't you answer!" Hajime shouted after him, feeling his throat tighten and the warmth of- tears? What the hell, why was he crying? He wiped his eyes and ran after Nagito before he could leave the hotel building. Right then, he didn't want to see the other again, not until he'd calmed down. But he knew that he had to take him back and tie him up, having Nagito on the loose- unsupervised, was far too dangerous.  
"It's not important, it'd just waste time. It's after 10 pm right? You should head to bed, not take care of someone as selfish as me." He said, gripping the railing of the stairs as he walked. 

"Fine" Hajime relented. He didn't have the energy to argue or to do anything really. Suddenly, and inexplicably, he'd become really tired. They completed the walk to the old building in silence, Hajime supporting Nagito with an arm around his waist like before. As they came closer, Hajime could feel Nagito tensing up, but he was too tired to comment. When they entered the hallway, Hajime saw the bag of oranges and bread that he'd brought with him earlier that evening. It felt like a lifetime had passed between then and now.  
"Do you think you could do me a favor and tie my hands in front of me this time?" he asked as they entered, masking the anxiety in his voice as a cough.  
Hajime shrugged but complied, binding Nagito's wrists considerably lighter than before. He cringed at the sight of the red rope burns around his wrists, a stark contrast to Nagito's pale skin. He also got rid of the chains, opting to instead bind his ankles with more rope. At Nagito's questioning look he explained that he was too tired to bother with the heavy chains, a poor excuse, but Nagito didn't question it  
After he was rebound, Nagito laid down on the floor and turned away from Hajime. "Good night Hinata-san. Sleep tight."

"G-good night, I guess" Hajime replied. He flicked off the light switch as he left, feeling an immense weight lift off his chest as he stepped out of the old building, into the tenebrous night. He contemplated the bizarre evening all the way to his cabin, turning Nagito's words up and down inside his mind in a futile attempt to make sense of them. He had trouble falling asleep that night, and when he did he dreamt about the first trial, and Nagito's unsettling words.


	2. We take a quick break from the serious writing to philosophically examine oranges and diss rice.

Nagito awoke the next day, quite a while after the morning announcement had played, body aching all over. Having slept while bound hadn't exactly improved his state of being but he could bear with it. After all, this is what the ultimates had deemed the best way he could help them reach for hope in these dark times. Hunger gnawed at his gut and he remembered the oranges Hinata had left him.  
He was so sweet, like the oranges. He really didn't deserve being catered to like this by someone as amazing as Hinata. His talent has to be compassion if he's to care this much for trash like me... he thought as he got up this time with much more ease and skipped over to the oranges and fished one out. If Hinata for some reason decided to show up again he'd have to thank him for letting him be able to use his hands.  
While hopping over to the oranges and bread, fatigue hit him and he stumbled, falling headfirst onto the floor. He landed painfully on top of his wrists, probably fracturing them but to his luck, the rope snapped and he could with relative ease peel his orange.  
"Too sweet.."

Hajime, meanwhile, awoke to the Monokuma Announcement bathing in cold sweat. He'd been contemplating his and Nagito's conversation practically the entire night, and though it wasn't much, he felt he'd made some headway.  
He'd been too tired and irritated to notice last night, but something had shifted in Nagito after he'd mentioned his elementary school. He'd been acting guarded and callous, and when Hajime had pressed he'd completely shut up. Nagito had never refused to answer any questions before. Sure, he might give roundabout answers, maybe even change the topic altogether, but he'd never refused to answer. Something wasn't right, and Hajime was going to get to the bottom of this. He pulled himself out of bed with renewed vigor (despite having gotten a grand total of 5 hours of sleep the previous night,) and prepared to go visit Nagito again. This time, he entered the Hotel lobby and picked up enough breakfast for two, explaining to Sonia that he wanted to keep an eye on Nagito to ensure he didn't harm anyone. She applauded his bravery and determination, and gave him a pitcher of tea to bring, along with two slices of toast and a bowl of rice. 

After eating a few cloves Nagito fell back and stared up at the dark ceiling. His eyes had by now adjusted to the close to total darkness and he was growing more and more bored.  
"Man, these guys do not like me. Understandable, but I only wish they'd let me starve already instead of giving me little by little food and just prolonging it." he sighed, talking to himself. "Maybe it's what I deserve. Yeah, I deserve a slow painful death. I should never have let something like that slip by- I should've taken extra countermeasures to make sure no one but me would've been harmed."  
Nagito took a clove and put it on his nose and began wiggling his face to catch it with his mouth. He obviously caught it and winced as he bit through. "Oranges really are too sweet. They'd probably taste better with the peel. Bittersweet, like the road to ultimate hope."

 

As Hajime pushed open the door to the Old building, he was greeted by the raspy mumbling of Nagito Komaeda's voice. Immediately on alert, he stopped, trying to discern what the voice was saying. He slowly walked further in through the corridor, eyes widening in shock as he heard the spoken words  
. -"wish they'd let me starve...deserve a slow and painful death...No one but me would have been harmed..."  
The voice was undeniably Nagito's, but it was quiet and mellow, not at all the chipper tone Hajime was used to. The words left a bad taste in Hajime's mouth. To hear someone say things like that, regardless of who it was, frightened him.  
As he approached the door to the dining hall, Hajime slowed down. He lifted a hand to open the door, but couldn't bring himself to barge in and interrupt Nagito so forcefully. Instead, he knocked on the wooden door, noting his trembling hands. "Hey Nagito, are you awake? I brought breakfast." He said loudly, pretending like he hadn't heard anything. 

"Ah! Hinata-kun! Good morning!" He grinned widely and looked over to the door. "Thank you for the oranges!"  
"I did find them a bit sweet though." he chuckled lightly and sat up. "Oh yeah, I tripped and got loose so I could eat easier, how lucky is that?"  
Nagito held up his hands and flashed his wrists. "You'll probably have to bind me with the chains in the end after all."

Hajime looked at him dubiously. How the hell did he trip and manage something like that? He pushed the thought aside, that wasn't important right then. He placed the tray with food down on the floor and crouched in front of his classmate. "Nagito, I want to say something, and I want you to let me finish without interrupting me. Can you do that?"

"Mm, yeah sure." he agreed without hesitation. "Is it a plan to kill me?" Nagito wondered and listened attentively.

Hajime sighed. "Quiet, remember? Anyway" He pushed the tray with breakfast in between the both of them. "I want to talk about yesterday. I've thought a lot about what happened and first and foremost I want to apologize-" Nagito opened his mouth to say something, but Hajime held up a hand to stop him. "I realize now that I probably scared you for some reason, and I'm sorry. That was my bad. It doesn't matter that I'm an Ultimate or anything, I was tired and irritable and I said some things I shouldn't have." Hajime took a deep breath. "Secondly,-" He said, leaning over and taking hold of the ropes around Nagitos ankles. "I'm going to release you. You staying here is making things worse for everybody, and especially for you. If the others are worried, I'll vouch for you."

Nagito sat quiet, waiting for an ok to speak again. It took about two minutes of awkward silence before Hajime told him that it was okay to speak again.  
"Aren't you afraid?" he ended up asking

Hajime didn't exactly know how to answer that. Truthfully, yeah he couldn't forget the image of Nagito laughing wildly from the class trial, couldn't block out the feelings of despair he induced  
He hadn't really thought this part through either, sure he'd felt terrible leaving Nagito like that last night, but he Had instigated the murder of one of their friends. Still though, after hearing what he's heard before, there was no doubt in his mind. This was too cruel a punishment. "It doesn't matter if I'm scared. You don't deserve this--nobody does." He said with conviction, as much for himself as it was for Nagito.

"I don't mind." Nagito shrugged. "If it enables you all to embody hope and shine through all this despair I'd happily disintegrate in a dusty, damp room like this." He said without a care in the world. "Of course I'd love to see your hope for all long as possible but if my despair allows that to happen then I'd sacrifice myself without a doubt. I don't know how much it'd be worth though since I'm just a worthless nobody."

"You know what?" Hajime muttered disgruntedly, "Any normal person would have *thanked* me for releasing them from a three-day long isolation." He unwound the rope around Nagito's ankles as gently as possible, once again grimacing at the bruises and rope burns that covered most of the exposed skin. When he'd finished, Hajime leaned back and gestured to the food. "I got us breakfast, I heard you didn't like rice, so-" He trailed off, somewhat awkwardly.

Thank you, Hinata-kun!" Nagito exclaimed cheerfully, leaning over to gently massage his ankles, his wrists screaming for him to stop applying pressure to them. He let out a hiss as he touched his sensitive, burning skin and he bit into his pants' knees.  
"May I have the toast?"

"Of course! I brought it for you after all." Hajime said, picking up the bowl of rice. "Oh- and Sonia got us tea too." He added, nodding at the thermos next to the food.  
"Oh- and after this I'm taking you to Tsumiki to get your wounds dressed" Hajime continued, picking up a piece of rice with his chopsticks. 

 

"To think that'd you'd do something like that for me... I'm so blessed! I'm so happy I'm about to wet myself!" he reeled from excitement and took the second toast to devour. "Thank you Hinata-kun."

"Please don't" Hajime retorted, looking at Nagito's cheerful expression over his bowl of rice. He was happy, however, to see Nagito reaching over to grab the second toast of his own volition. He barely even registered Nagito's words of gratitude, so used to hear them spoken in any and all contexts. "Thank you for tolerating me Hinata-kun" "Thank you for allowing a piece of trash like me near you Hinata-kun" "Thank you for offering, Hinata-kun, I'm sure it's a great sacrifice to spend time near a lowly piece of trash like me..." So used to it, that he almost didn't realize that the thanks had been sincere, and actually justified for once. He caught himself just in time, and answered, a small smile tugging at his lips "You're welcome, Nagito"

"Did Sonia make us tea too?" he asked curiously and he crunched the toast with vigor. "What does Soda-san say about you being here? Are they really okay with you spending valuable time with a trash human like me?"

Hajime shrugged. "Souda doesn't control me, and besides, he's lost all say in what happens to you." Hajime shudders as he remembered the state he'd found Nagito in the day prior, yeah Souda should definitively back off.

"Nekomaru too?" Nagito inquired to know, finishing up his toast. "Why do you like rice so much? It looks like larvae eggs."

Hajime blinked at him. "What? How do you *not* like rice? It's like the staple of food in Japan, my parents forced me to have it every day!" His stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of his parents, and his face fell, but he ate a big spoonful of rice to cover it up. 

"Yeah but it's so eerily white, it's almost as pale as you Hajime." he snorted. "It's like it's been bleached. Bleached ant eggs which hatch in your stomach and crawl around."

Hajime cringed at that mental image. "You are not in a position to comment on anyone else being pale" He pointed out. "And also, I'm pretty certain bleached ant eggs would be too damaged to hatch. I mean, I don't need to be the ultimate entymologist to know that."

"Maybe you are!" he exclaimed. "Have you remembered yet?" Nagito wondered and reached for his half-eaten orange to finish it. "I wonder if there are any croutons on this island."  
"What do you think, mister myrmecologist?"

Hajime laughed. "I think we can safely rule out myrmecology. The closest I've ever gotten to researching any kind of insect was in 5th grade when I tripped and fell into an anthill. I was researching how to treat all the ant bites for days.." He looked over att Nagito, who was chewing on a piece of orange with a playful smile on his lips. He really looked like the Nagito who'd first stayed behind to help Hajime, back before everything went wrong. Maybe that hadn't all been an act, after all. 

"Man, oranges really are too sweet." He chuckled as he took another clove, chewing happily. "I wonder what it's like to eat a peeled lemon." 

"In my expert opinion, I'd say sour" Hajime said, putting the now empty bowl of rice on the tray in between them. "Anyway, how would you like a shower and a change of clothes before we go find Tsumiki?"

"I would actually appreciate that quite a bit. I feel more disgusting than usual and that says a lot." he chuckled and looked down at his wrists. "If trash like me starts to reek like I probably already so I would be worth even less than the worthless human I already am."

And just like that, the mood plummeted. "Okay," Hajime started, standing and dusting off his pants. "Should we get going? We'll stop by your cottage, and you can freshen up." He reached out his hand, aiming to help Nagito stand.

"Thank you, Hinata-kun, for caring so much about a bug like me. I probably hatched from a rice grain." he smiled, fishing for a laugh.

Hajime swallowed. The more Nagito did it, the more his self-deprecation unsettled him. At first he'd thought it was annoying, and he'd even agreed with some of it, but hearing Nagito say it so matter-of-factly, especially when they'd been having fun just before made his skin crawl. He decided to have a talk about it with Nagito sometime soon. For now, though, he gathered the dirty dishes from their breakfast and led the way out of the Old Building. 

Nagito stumbled after him like a lost puppy, the fatigue hitting him hard as he stepped out into the sun, his eyes reluctant to adjust. In the background by the pool, Mahiru stood talking in hushed voices with Hiyoko. I wonder what that's all about, he wondered quietly to himself as he squinted at them before wobbling after Hinata.


	3. Why did monokuma put in glass walls to the bathroom? A question I ask myself every morning when I brush my teeth

They reached Nagito's cottage without any interruptions, and Hajime was immediately ushered in by Nagito. His cottage was surprisingly normal. No fancy decorations or mysterious things, just a bed, a closet, and a bathroom. It resembled Hajime's cottage quite a lot, actually. "Okay, I'll just wait for you here, I guess?" Hajime said uncertainly.

"Yeah, sounds good." He nodded, leaving Hajime on the bed as he entered the bathroom, giving him a little awkward wave before taking off his jacket and shirt. 

Exactly now did Hajime realize the tremendous flaw in his plan. The. Fucking. Shower. Was. See-through. He now had a perfect view, as Nagito Komaeda pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his bare back, pale and covered in small black and purple spots. Hajime stared, transfixed. He hadn't realized just how badly Nagito had been hurt, and he felt foolish now for not helping him sooner. Nagito seemed to either not have realized the situation he was in, or he simply didn't care, as he bent over and started to pull down his- HEY! "N-Nagito, uh could you put your clothes back on?" Hajime practically shouted, voice shrill in panic.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." He said, quickly putting on his shirt again. "I should've figured you wouldn't want to see something as disgusting as that." He chuckled, glaring at the floor as he put on his jacket. "You could leave the room if it bothers you that much, I won't do anything, just shower." 

"Y-yeah, I'll do that- I'll just, um-" Hajime stuttered, practically flying out the door. He sat down on the ground next to Nagito's door, letting his legs fall over the side of the bridge.  
He could not get the image of Nagito's bruised body out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. His pale skin, slender build and-   
Nope. That's the end of that train of thought. 

A while later Nagito came out in another shirt of his, this one much alike his other in style, but different pattern, his old shirt wet in his hand. It wound around his wrist for support. "Let's go see Tsumiki-chan and see if she can bother with just lending me a bandage? Unless there's something that came up for you, I'll go back to the old building if you want me to-"

"Yeah, let's go" Hajime interrupted, sitting up quickly. They found Tsumiki at the drug store- as Hajime had expected- sifting through various jars of some kind of medicine. Her eyes widened as she saw them, one hand flying up to cover her mouth in shock. "O-Oh H-Hinata-san and K-Komaeda-san, w-what can I do for y-you?" 

"Hello, Tsumiki! Working hard today too?" he wondered, limping ever so slightly up to her to look at what she was doing.

Mikan fumbled with a bottle and almost dropped it. In her rush to catch the vial before it broke, she lost her balance and was about to fall backward. Luckily, Hajime intervened, quickly catching her and placing her back on her feet. Mikan backed away from the pair, blushing furiously. "I-I guess you c-could say that." she stuttered, fidgeting with a few strands of hair nervously. 

"Ah, then we won't bother you with something as trivial as this. Let's go back Hinata-kun? I don't want to get in her way." he said, backing down.

"Actually, Tsumiki, we were hoping to ask you for some help," Hajime interjected, ignoring Nagito's protests. Mikan gasped, "O-Of course Hinata-san, A-anything y-you want. S-should I take my clothes off?"   
Hajime suppressed a groan. What was it with him and people taking their clothes off today?   
"No Mikan, nothing like that. Actually, I was hoping you could examine Nagito for me. His confinement has left him with some- persisting injuries, I guess you could say."

"Really Hinata, they're no big deal, I'll manage." Nagito insisted, wrapping his jacket tougher around himself.

Hajime wanted to argue, but to his surprise, Mikan beat him to it. "Aa-ah Komaeda-san, you look paler than usual! I- I truly t-think you'll benefit f-from an examination- I-if that isn't to presumptuous of me- Ah I'm sorry- I was t-to forward, I'm sorry!" Mikan's eyes welled up with tears, and Hajime had to reassure her that she wasn't doing anything wrong. "Please, if you can examine him, that would help a lot actually," He said, trying to placate the trembling girl.

"If it's what you want I'll cooperate." Nagito agreed and took off his jacket and allowed Mikan to examine him throughly.

"O-Oh Komaeda-san you are v-very thin f-for someone your age, a-are you eating properly?" Mikan asked timidly, looking Nagito up and down thoroughly. "F-furthermore, the wounds on y-your wrists a-and ankles will n-need to be bandaged, a-and I'll g-give you s-some salve for the bruising as well." She mused, walking over to a cabinet and looking through it, all while whimpering quietly. 

"You're too kind, Tsumiki-chan." Nagito praised. "Amazing that you immediately knew, as expected of the ultimate nurse! You really stick to your oath no matter what, even if the patient is trash like me."  
Nagito held out his arms to get tested, patiently waiting for Mikan to do her thing. "I love seeing you work, so hopeful that your patients will make it."

Mikan returned with a roll of bandages and a small flask. She gave them to Hajime who collected the items, examining them curiously. Mikan then took hold of one of Nagito's wrists, pulling it close to examine the rope burns. Nagito couldn't suppress a wince of pain as she did, however, and Mikan noticed. "K-Komaeda-san, f-forgive me if I'm- ah- being too forward, b-but does your wrists hurt? D-did you perhaps injure them?"

"Amazing, you even notice something as minor as that! Your eyes are very perceptive!" Nagito continued to sing his praise for the girl without properly answering her question.

Mikan just stuttered in response, but Hajime caught Nagito's attempt at changing the subject. "Is she right, Komaeda? Did you hurt your wrists somehow?" He pressed, studying the other closely. "I-it's better if you t-tell us now, s-so that we can make sure it's n-not serious" Tsumiki offered timidly.

"Yeah, I tripped and fell on top of them. But then the rope snapped and I was able to eat an orange." he smiled cheerfully. "It should be fine., Nothing's broken."

"Y-you t-tripped on your wrists? T-T-that might be very bad, y-you need to let me examine you, immediately. Mikan explained, rushing over to yet another cabinet, this time pulling out what looked like medical equipment.

"Ah, if you're gonna cut me up, please let me know in advance. I'm trash but I have nerves too." he chuckled nervously but kept his wrists out for Mikan to access them easily.

Mikan flinched visibly, and Hajime groaned. "Don't mind him," He said reassuringly, "Just do whatever you need to treat him." Mikan nodded and approached them again. "C-c-could you p-please let me know, w-when it hurts?" She said, carefully prodding at one of Nagito's wrist with an instrument. 

"There. I can't apply pressure without it hurting." He said, flinching as she prodded around, casting a glance over to Hinata. "You don't have to do this for me." He said, wincing as she pressed against another sore spot. 

"You know, I really don't know how to tell you this, but I'm doing this because I want to." Hajime said, exasperation creeping into his voice. Nagito looked as if he wanted to respond, but was cut off by Mikan's timid interruption. "U-um I am terribly s-sorry, b-b-but I think I've made my diagnosis," she stuttered, wringing her hands together. "I-it looks like a sprain, b-but fortunately it s-should heal p-properly without a cast. Y-you were very lucky, K-komaeda-san" She explained.

"Yes, I've noticed." He huffed in amusement. "So I should just leave it as it is?" Nagito asked impatiently, hoping to get out of the drugstore as soon as possible. There was just something about Tsumiki that irked him...

"N-no, not at all!" Mikan exclaimed. "You'll need t-to bandage t-them, and also the burns on y-your ankles. O-oh, and you'll n-need to treat the bruises too!" Suddenly, she slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes flitting between the open door and Hajime. "I-I am t-t-terribly s-sorry, but I n-need to go! I h-h-have somewhere I need t-to be!" She stammered. "I'm s-sorry!"

They followed her out with their gaze as the timid girl rushed out, leaving the salves and bandages in Hajime's arms. After Mikan had hurried out, Nagito turned to Hajime. "Let's follow her." He said with a new, determined look on his face. 

"What? why? Wait, Hey-" Nagito walked off, and Hajime went after, stuffing the medical equipment in his pockets for now. "What are you doing?" He asked once he'd caught up.

"What? Aren't you curious of where she's headed? Maybe they're all meeting without you because you spent too much time around me and now they think you're planning to kill them so now they're planning to kill you." He said, thoughts spiraling. "You should've just left garbage like me starve."

Hajime was actually curious, but he wasn't going to admit that. "Well considering that another murder isn't going to occur, I highly doubt that." He said confidently. "But, if you want we can go look for her after we've dressed your wounds?"

"They're not a big deal, I can manage." He assured him. "If you want to go we can go now," Nagito said, not wanting to bother Hajime with more of his troubles.

Hajime looked at him dubiously. "Komaeda, *both* your wrists were fractured. You have bruises all over your body. I'm not letting you run around hurting yourself, and that's final. We can do it here if you want, I promise it'll be quick, okay?" He used the same tone he'd developed to placate Mikan and Hiyoko when he needed to defuse a situation, hoping that would calm Nagito down.

"Alright, hand them over." He said, holding out his hands to get the bandages and salves to do it himself, he didn't want to put Hajime through the trouble. Perhaps it was a bad idea to follow her with Hajime, he shouldn't rope him in to far and risk him getting harmed by his luck cycles.

"Komaeda, do I have to repeat myself?" Hajime scolded. "Your. wrists. are. fractured." He picked up a roll of bandages. "Here, give me your wrists, I got basic first aid practice in middle school." 

After that Nagito resigned. He'd let him do this but then he'd let Hinata get going alone. Exhausted he sat down on the counter of the drugstore and reached out his arms for Hajime to work on. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Hajime said, grateful that he hadn't needed to argue any further. "Let me know if I'm hurting you, okay?" He knew full well Nagito wouldn't but thought it best to say anyway if nothing else than out of courtesy. Bandaging Nagito's wrists and ankles was a quick process, even if the results were practical but far from elegant. Hajime was taken aback by how bad the burns really were, particularly around his wrists, now that he could see them clearly in the bright light of the pharmacy, but he felt it best not to comment. "We'll tend to the bruises later, okay?" He said as he finished, pocketing the remainder of the bandages. 

"Sounds like a plan." Nagito nodded. "Actually, I'm really tired and I'd like to go back to the Old Building and take a nap, You can go investigate Mikan. I don't think she'd want me there either way."

"Okay..." Hajime said confusedly. Hadn't Nagito been the one to suggest going after Mikan in the first place? "Let me walk you back, then." He said, standing and waiting for Nagito to get up. Before they could even step out of the building, a sound that made Hajime's blood freeze played.


	4. In which we(Nagito) learn(s) that breaking bones is atually a kinda serious thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please listen to the album Vertigo by EDEN. This has nothing to do with the fic, it's just a really good album.  
> The song Wings suits Komahina pretty well though.
> 
> Verse 2:  
> And you can find me where the sea pours into the stars  
> I'll get there someday  
> I hope you find everything you think that you want  
> Bruises will fade  
> Time on our side, we can wait for it  
> I'll be doing fine, if you are  
> 'Cause life is but a dream  
> Only as real as you let it be
> 
> Chorus:  
> So if you loved me, how was I supposed to know?  
> 'Cause now we're fading and losing what we wanted most  
> But in spite of how you feel, it's not the end of the world  
> Some say these things are for the best  
> For better or worse
> 
> Take Care is pretty good too.

No-no this can't be happening, he thought, as the notes of a school bell played throughout the pharmacy. The shrill sound of Monokuma's voice soon followed, but Hajime was having difficulties concentrating on the sounds. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, and his vision was swimming. "No- there's no way, No way someone else was-" he pleaded quietly.

Nagito listened to the body discovery announcement to the end before he went up to Hajime, carefully laying a hand on his back. "Hang in there Hinata-kun." He said softly, stroking his back lightly. "We'll get through this too and your hope will shine even brighter once you've gotten through this and conquered despair."

Hajime flinched at Nagito's touch, backing away from him slowly. "I-Investigate..." He gasped, "We need to- need to f-find the blackened. I can't be here- I need to-" He balled his fists, trying to calm his racing heart and trembling body.

"Hajime, breathe. Sit down and breathe. If you faint I can't catch you." Nagito reasoned. "You have to be calm to investigate, otherwise you might miss something." He said softly, sinking to the ground to guide him down.

Hajime let his body relax into Nagito's hold, allowing himself to be guided into a sitting position. He remembered the last time he'd felt this faint, after he'd first woken up on the beach. Nagito had been there that time too, hadn't he. "I-I'm sorry," He murmured slowly, the warmth and security of Nagito's hold calming him. 

"It's okay, you have nothing to apologize for." He said soothingly, reaching out a hand without touching ans asked the unthinkable. "May I touch you, Hinata-kun?" 

Hajime looked at the outstretched hand, without properly registering the words spoken along with it. His body acted on impulse, grabbing hold of it and clutching it close. Nagito's hand was cold, but his big jacket was warm and soft, and the combination of the two seemed to calm Hajime down for some reason. 

"You'll get through this, Hinata." He murmured, stroking Hajime's hand with his thumb. "You'll get through this and when you do you'll shine with even brighter hope than before. Your hope is magnificent, and I'll do anything I can to get to see it again." He promised. "Use me however you want." he smiled softly. 

"I-I'll get through this, yeah." Hajime echoed, slowly feeling his vision clearing. "Yeah- I can do this."  
The uncomfortable tightening in his chest was relenting with every breath he took, and Hajime almost sighed with relief. Only now did he realize what position he was in. He was sitting with his back against a rack of medicine, Nagito on his knees in front of him. The other was practically halfway onto his lap, with Hajime clutching his hand and forward close to his chest, like a child with a teddy-bear. He immediately let go of Nagito's hand, cheeks burning.

"Is something wrong?" Nagito asked, confused over how suddenly he was let go. "Ah, of course, how stupid I was." he murmured and backed. "Taking advantage of you like that when you're vulnerable. What disgusting scum I am." he chuckled to himself. "How are you feeling now, if I may ask."

"I- Thank you," Hajime said, getting up from the floor, still overwhelmed. When he saw Nagito's downtrodden expression, however, he pieced together what had happened. "No- you did absolutely nothing wrong, I-I was just startled. Thank you so much for helping me there, I don't know what I would have done if I'd fainted like before."

"Ah- about that," Hajime said, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "You wouldn't happen to have heard where the body was discovered, did you? I-uh I missed that.."

"At the beach house." he said, getting up from the floor and waited for Hajime to stand up and join him. "Let's go investigate?"

They hurried over to the beach house, Hajime's mind already racing with theories about what could have happened. Hadn't Mikan been heading this way? What if something happened to her? 

He ran up to the door and tried to push the door open, but was shocked to find it locked. They rounded the building instead, towards the entrance by the beachside.  
When they approached that side, they were stopped by Chiaki. "Um- please don't step on these," she said, gesturing to something on the ground, a hint of determination shining through her normally tired voice, "Nanami! What happened?" Hajime exclaimed. "Um- I think it's best if you see for yourself," she said, crouching down to inspect the ground. "It's right over there, that should clear it up for you, I think...."

The sight that met Hajime as he entered the beach house was chilling. On the opposite side of the room, propped up against the diner-side door was Mahiru Koizumi's dead body. He steeled himself,  
I have to do this, he told himself. For Mahiru.

Nagito walked up around him, giving him a small and discreet pat on the back. "You got this, Hinata-kun," he said and went over to investigate the body.

As he entered, Gundam looked up from where he'd been investigating a storage closet. "You fiend!" He roared, turning toward Nagito. "How did you manage to free yourself from the interdimensional prison?!"

"Ah! The chains weren't tied very tightly, but that doesn't matter." Nagito grinned cheerfully. "I do believe there is a crime scene to investigate, so let's focus on that instead?"

"What the hell?! What the hell what the hell what the hell?!" Kazuichi rambled, Nagito's sudden appearance just hardening the blow of the shock from discovering Mahiru's body.  
"What's he doing here too?! I bet the crazed dude did it, can the class trial begin already?!"

"No that's wrong," Hajime interjected. "Nagito has been with me all morning, he has an airtight alibi." He pushed past Gundam and crouching down to examine the trash can next to the vending machine. Kazuichi didn't look convinced, but Sonia agreed, "Actually, I ran into Hajime this morning and he informed me about his plans to spend the morning with Komaeda-san."

"Mm! And then we ran into Mikan at the pharmacy." Nagito added. "Sadly I didn't get to help with this killing, which is quite a pity. I could've assisted in many ways," he said, looking around at the crime scene. "Some of this is just sloppily done." he sighed and looked around in the beach house. "Ah- sorry. You all probably want to work together and I'm just in the way. Go ahead, I'll stand back." Nagito backed away from the fridge and trashcan and stood by the entrance.  
"I'll go make myself useful," he said and left the scene to go examine the footprints and go find out who's they were, or rather to prove they were Hiyoko's. Few others had as small feet as her. 

Hajime looked after him as he left, but didn't comment. Instead, he turned to the others. "Do we know who the first person to discover the body was?" He asked, forcing his brain to forget Nagito and focus on the investigation instead. They had a blackened to catch, and their lives were on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We accidentally hacked AO3 while writing this, dw abt it


	5. We take a short commercial break from Pain And Suffering TM to talk about salad and then we're back to our regular program

After the class trial in the elevator ride up, the silence laid thick with worry for Fuyuhiko but as soon as the elevator came to a halt Soda opened his mouth. "What are we going to do about crazy over here?" he asked, referring to Nagito. "Lock him up again?" Hajime noticed Nagito flinch at the words, though he kept his mouth shut. "We're not locking him up again" He said, fixing Souda with a determined glare. "The last time, he was both bruised and malnutritioned, and he hasn't recovered from either."

"Ah, Hinata, if that's what everyone deems the most suitable then I'm fine with it." he said.  
"See? He's fine with it." Kazuichi groaned. "I don't see the problem."

"Well if you still want him surveilled then why not have Hinata stay with him to prevent him from being unsupervised? Is it really that hard to not think like a brute?" Hiyoko sneered.

"A-actually, If I-Im not being too presumptous, I a-agree with Hinata-san. I-it would h-hinder Komaeda-san's recovery t-to lock him up again" Mikan added, voice trembling.   
"Well, if Hinata-san agrees, I think having Komaeda-san supervised would be a big asset to help everyone be at ease- Not permanently of course, but for the time being, I think it would be benificial" Sonia added, putting on a big smile despite her eyes being reddened from tears. 

"W-what?" Hajime exclaimed, "Why do I have to do this?!"

"Well you've been hanging out constantly with him anyway. If I didn't know better I'd call you gay." Hiyoko huffed. "I mean you two are always chasing each others tails anyway so why not"

"Girls love is WAYYYYY better than BL." Ibuki weighed in.

Tuning out Hiyoko and Ibuki's comments, Hajime considered hus predicament. He really didn't want to spend the majority of his days looking after Nagito, especially considering how riled up the other frequently got him. But if the alternative was locking him up again... "This won't be permanent, right?" Sonia nodded affermatively "Right! Its just for a little while." Hajime swallowed, looking Nagito straight in the eyes "Then okay, I'll do it."

"Don't worry Hinata, you hopefully won't notice me at all." Nagito assured him as they left the elevator and began their solemn walk back to the hotel, missing three.

"Well that would kind of defeat the point of *supervising* wouldn't you say?" Hajime muttered, as they walked toward their cottages. "Anyway, I want to look over the rest of your bruising before we go to sleep, and we haven't eaten since this morning, so that might also be good."

"If you say so." he nodded, following obediently.  
"Should I cook something this time as a thank you? Would you really eat something cooked by someone as disgusting as me?"

"Oh uh- yeah. I didn't know you could cook, Komaeda" Hajime commented. As they approached the hotel, they waved goodbye to the others and entered the lounge. "How are your bruises feeling, by the way?" Nagito opened his mouth to respond, but Hajime interruped. "Oh- And don't say you're fine to not be a bother, please. It'll just be more of a hassle if you get an infection or something."

"I'm- they're sore and hurt." he said, giving in and told the truth. "We'll have to ask mikan to point out which medicines are antibiotics and painkillers."

Hajime nodded. "Okay then, well we can try the salve for now, and you'll have to let me know if it improves, okay?" They entered the kitchen together, and Hajime's stomach twisted at the memory of Mahiru, who'd been standing here , alive not two days ago, scolding them for making Hiyoko cry. 

"Should we ask if anyone else wants something? I'm sure Akane would love to accompany you." Nagito suggested, heart fluttering as a twinge of despair washed over Hajime.

Hajime couldn't quite surpress the twinge of disappointment that struck him at those words, but he nodded. "Well sure, I'm sure she'd love to join us. If you want we can head over to her cottage and ask?"

"Ah, I don't think she'd trust me." he chuckled awkwardly. "But really, who would?"

"You're the one that wanted to invite her, weren't you?" Hajime asked, confused. 

"I just thought it would be more fun to eat with someone as amazing as you are." he said, heading towards the kitchen

Of course he'd answer something like that. Well, Hajime reasoned, Nagito seemed to have convinced himself out of it, so he wasn't going to push anymore. Instead, he followed the other boy into the kitchen "So, what're you making anyway?" Hajime wondered. 

"How about a shiitake risotto?" he suggested, craving a creamy comfort food. Of course it was great that this much despair arose- it would only lead them toward the ultimate hope, but dealing with despair right there and then- it was hard to not indulge himself while he had the chance.

"Ehm, isn't that kind of diffcult to prepare?" Hajime asked. "It's kind of late, wouldn't something simple like an Omelet or a couple of sandwiches be better?" He looked around the kitchen, grateful from the momentary distraction to help him forget about Peko and Mahiru, and worrying about Fuyuhiko to boot.

"Okay,a no on that then.. How about bacon-wrapped dates? Those are good." He suggested, rummaging through cupboards and eventually found dates. 

"Um, I- I'd really prefer something simple, Komaeda. Maybe you can cook something like that some other time?" Hajime tried to reason with the other. The dishes he was suggesting were certainly fancy-sounding, but Hajime was really just looking for something quick before bed. He wasn't sure how much he could stomach, with so much anxiety and fear churning in his gut either.

"I'll just make bruschetta with pico de gallo." Komaeda sighed and disappeared to find the toast and garlic.

"A-alright" Hajime relented. "Do you- uh, want any help? Anything I can do?" 

"You could cut up three red onions and 12 roma tomatoes?" He instructed. "I'll go find cilantro, I think I saw some in the garden outside on the balcony." he said, leaving the kitchen.

"Uh- sure. Just- Komaeda, exactly what is it we're making?" Hajime asked. "Also, what's a roma tomato, and what's the difference between one and a regular old tomato?"   
Hajime felt vastly out of his element here, since his competence in the kitchen went as far as being able to cook basic dishes, but nothing near as fancy as the names Nagito had listed. 

"A roma tomato is a small plum tomato!" Nagito called out from the balcony, looking for cilantro.

Right. Well, slicing onion and tomatoes, Hajime could manage. He opened the pantry, scouring it for any sign of the ingredients he wanted. After some searching, he gathered the ingredients and started slicing them on a cutting board. "So Nagito, how come you know all of this fancy food anyway?" Hajime said as the other boy reentered the kitchen, carrying a green herb in one hand. 

"I was born into a rich family." He explained and went on to sheer the cilantro. "I was basically raised by servants, one day after an accident one of the maids took me in the kitchen and taught me how to make crab stuffed mushrooms. After that whenever I was upset they'd teach me how to make a new dish." he hummed, laying the two cups worth of cilantro by a bowl and went ahead to turn on the oven.

"Huh" Hajime didn't really know what to say to that. Nagito didn't really seem like a person who was born to wealth, but then again he guessed apperances could be decieving. Nagito had also mentioned an accident, and though Hajime was fiercly curious as to what that entailed, he felt it best not to pry too much. "Well then, I look forward to tasting your cooking" He said instead, finishing up cutting the onions. 

"Oh yeah, and dice the tomatoes. I'll do the jalapeños." he instructed, finding a baguette and cut it up into desired pieces and moved on with the pico de gallo while the oven heated up.

"Right" Hajime said, and went back to diligently dicing tomatoes. He'd noticed a serious shift in attitude from Nagito since they'd started to cook. He seemed more... at ease, more authoritive, almost more human than before. He hadn't mentioned anything about talent, hope, or anything self deprecating for quite a while now, and Hajime was enjoying the change. "Tell me more about your life," He pressed, wanting to keep the lighthearted mood.

"Well, I have these luck cycles." he began, slicing the jalapeños. "Are you sure you want to know right now?"

"Well... I'd like to know more about you" Hajime said uncertainly, "But if you don't want to tell me, that's fine, of course." He mentally berated himself for being so pushy, afraid he was going to scare Nagito away like last time. He still didn't know what had triggered him then, and he was afraid to repeat the same mistake.

Nagito stood silent for a while. "Well, I bet it's too late now anyway, so I'll tell you to protect you." he sighed and turned around to face Hajime.   
"I have luck cycles, basically, first something bad happens, just to be followed by immense luck and wealth."

"What" Hajime was dumbfounded. "What do you mean, luck cycles? I mean, you are the Ultimate Lucky student, but it's not like that's by design. You were just picked by a lottery, right?" 

"Well, yeah. Want an example?" he asked, his fingers wanting to get back to work, but the oven wasn't warm enough yet.

"Um, I mean yeah, that might be good." Hajime was still having a hard time wrapping his head around luck working in cykles in the first place. "Also, did you say to protect me earlier? What the hell does that mean, am I in some kind of danger or something?"

"Well, probably." he smiled miserably. "Remember that trip I went on after the school shooting? Well, when we were headed home from the Galapagos islands the plane got hijacked. Lucky us a meteorite about the size of an apple crashed through the airplane and killed the hijacker, but unfortunately not before my parents were killed." Nagito told him, voice getting thicker in the middle of the story but he quickly changed it back to normal and turned around to fiddle with the baguette.

"Holy sh- Komaeda I am so sorry, that's awful. I can't even-" Hajime took a deep breath to compose himself. Nagito had been through something as horrible as a school shooting, and right after he'd lost his parents. Hajime couldn't even comprehend how much despair and anguish that would leave in someone, especially since Nagito had been so young.   
"And, you called this a, what? A luck cycle? Why?" He continued, wanting to change the subject.

"Well, can you believe it? A meteorite struck the hijacker! Everyone was safe, and I inherited insane amounts of money!" He laughed. "Oh, and in middle school I was kidnapped, but in the bag I found a lottery ticket. When the police finally found me I cashed it in, turns out it was the winning ticket and I just increased my fortune with millions."   
At this point, his deranged self had begun to resurface as he stood laughing for himself as he placed out the bread on an oven tray.

Hajime covered his mouth with one hand. "Holy shit, Komaeda this is awful. I am so sorry for asking- I shouldn't have made you relive something that horrible, I-" He stopped himself, feeling shivers wracking through his entire body. "I- I get it, I think. You're afraid of something like that happening to me, aren't you? That's why you shut off yesterday, right? Am I right?"

"No, no no, yes, no- yes I'm worried about you- I'm scared." He choked before beginning to laugh manically, shrinking down onto the floor. "But it's gonna be okay in the end- imagine the prize I'll get after this whole killing game ordeal is over- or if I lose you- just imagining what it might be fills me with so much hope, I feel perverted-!" he exclaimed, hugging himself and he sank into a sitting position against the cupboards, wincing as a handle dug into his bruised back.

"H-hey Komaeda, what happened to you?" Hajime asked slowly. Nagito had fallen to the ground and was rocking back and forth, so Hajime moved until he was sitting in front of him. "Komaeda, listen to me please. I can't say I completely understand all of this, but I do know one thing. I am not going anywhere. I'll be here, with you, until you grow tired of me, I promise." Hajime leaned forward, mimicing what Nagito had done earlier that day and held out an open palm as invitation. "I understand that you've been through hell, and that you're probably suffering more than I can possibly imagine, even now, but I'm here for you, if you'll have me. What do you say? He asked, feeling tears spring up in his eyes.

"I don't want to die alone..." he whimpered, hugging himself, tears mixing with hiccups of laughter. "I don't want everyone else to die before me."

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise" Hajime soothed, gently bringing his had up to wipe the tears of Nagito's cheeks. "You're not going to be alone, never again." Hajime suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of affection as he looked down at the other. Is- Is this what Usami meant when she told us to collect Hope fragments? he wondered briefly. Whatever it was, it felt like he'd forged a true bond with Nagito, something that could never truly be severed. Hajime looked back at his crying classmate, feeling that same affection, as a comforting tightening in his chest. He decided he quite liked the feeling. 

"Promise?" he asked, curling in on himself. "Yeah, lets believe in hope and hope might let you stay." he whispered to himself with a chuckle. "Beware of meteors."

Hajime laughed, bright and loud, as a tear slid down his cheek. "I promise" he confirmed gently, "Now, I believe you were in the middle of cooking something, isn't that right?" He got up, holding out a hand to help pull Nagito up along with him. 

"Mm, yeah. We need to toast the bread in the oven for five minutes. You can toss the cilantro, tomatoes, onions and jalapeños in a bowl and mix it, right? I'll go find a lime." he sniffled, taking the tray and headed over to the oven. 

"Leave it to me" Hajime smiled, heading over to the ingredients. Mixing went quickly, and soon Hajime had thrown together a delicious looking salad. "Hey Komaeda! How does this look?" He asked, holding the bowl up for inspection.

"It looks great, now just squeeze the lime over it and I'll finfish the bruschetta." He praised and grabbed some garlic. 

Hajime did as he was told, and proceeded to set the table once he was finished. Nagito soon joined him, bringing with him a plate of fresh brushetta. "It looks really good" Hajime commented, feeling the fatigue from the incredibly eventful day transfrorm into hunger.

"One bruschetta served. There's more in the kitchen." Nagito smile and plated it for him. "I'll go eat mine in the kitchen, don't wanna bother." 

"Oh no you don't. Come and sit with me, Komaeda." Hajime insisted, pointing to the chair opposite him, where a plate and cutlery had already been placed.

"I'll go get the rest." He said, cheering up like a little puppy that had just been given a treat from the table. 

All together, the meal was nice. The food was divine, and Hajime kept insisting Nagito cook more often, to the other's polite protests. They engaged in light small talk, and Hajime took great pride in coaxing out a couple of genuine laughs from the boy across from him. All in all, an enjoyable experience, if you could look away from the fact that one, possibly two of their classmates had been killed that very same evening. Hajime couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, and he doubted Nagito could either. Perhaps this was the reason that they discussed the strange things Hajime had from the mono mono yachine (a maid outfit? Are you sure you're not making this up, Hinata-kun), and the reason why Nagito wears a thicc jacket in sweltering sunlight (Honestly, how attached can you get? It's a jacket, not a puppy, Komaeda)

After a nice meal together our eventually came to an end as both of them were tired and had to get up in the morning. Now they faced the dilemma of where to sleep.  
"I'll just give you the key to my room and then you can lock me in as you see fit." Nagito suggested.

Hajime accepted it hesitantly. "This is only for a little while, until the others learn to trust you, alright," He said. He felt uncharacteristically bad about locking Nagito up like this, especially after the conversation they'd just shared, but he felt more determined than ever to make sure Nagito didn't ever get locked up like that again. He supposed it couldn't be helped.

"Yeah. And if another murder happens then I'll have an airtight alibi." he grinned, trying to make light of the grave situation at hand.

"There won't be another murder" Hajime said, but the words sounded hollow, even to him. He'd been certain before, but Mahiru and Peko had died regardless. "Anyway, we'll tend to your bruises and then get some rest, that sound good?" He asked, changing the subject.

"You don't have to if you're tired." Nagito said, collecting Hajime's plate, wincing from the force her had to apply with his wrists.

"I'm fine," Hajime said, picking up the remainder of the dishes and following Nagito out into the kitchen. "You're the one who should be taking ut easy, being as you've fractured both your wrists and all."

"I want to make myself useful, I know how worthless I am. I'm only here to make you ultimates look even better." he chuckled for himself. "So I want to help out as much as possible."

"Well, you'd be more useful if you could actually carry stuff without wincing in pain.." Hajime muttered, looking pointedly at Nagito's tight grip around the plate he was holding. "Here, I'll get it" He said, placing the dishes in the dishwasher and holding his hand out expectantly, to get the ones Nagito was carrying.

He reluctantly handed over the plates and watched him stack the machine. "You're too kind to an imbecile like me, Hinata-kun. If you're nice like this all the time you're going to get used."

Yeah, like you're in any position to tell ME how to avoid being used, Hajime thought, but knew that voicing his thoughts would yield nothing. Instead, he stacked the dishwasher, and stood once he was done. "There, how about we get going?"

"Yeah, I'm tired." Nagito yawned, the fatigue catching up with him even though he'd been working on keeping it at bay.

They accompanied eachother to the cottages, and Hajime fished out the bottle of salve he'd gotten from Tsumiki from his pocket. "So- uh, Tsumiki never actually got around to applying this, did she? How are your bruises feeling?"

"Sore, but honestly, I'm about to fall asleep." he said, about to nod off. "You don't have to do it, Hinata-kun." Nagito told him, fishing out his keys from a pocket.

"You're going to feel much worse if we don't treat your bruises right away" Hajime argued. "Here, I'll apply the salve, you can just lie down and get some rest." Hajime remembered the condition he'd found Nagito in previously. He can't have gotten very much sleep lying on the floor in the Old Building.

"Okay." he nodded, finally entering his hut after almost a week sleeping elsewhere. "If I may ask, could you be so kind to lock my door when you leave?"

"Of course" Hajime agreed. The weight of Nagito's key was heavy in his hand. The others were counting on him to keep them safe from Nagito, but all he could see whas the relief in Nagito's green eyes as the realization that he could finally sleep in a bed again set in. "Okay, if you'll take of your shirt, I'll treat your bruises," He suggested, hoping the faint blush that coated his cheeks wasn't visible in the dim light. 

Nagito gave a nod and took off his shirt and sat down on his bed, pulling his hair aside for Hajime to reach with ease.

Hajime walked around him, sitting down on the bed so that he was facing Nagito's back. He held back a gasp as he saw Nagito's pale back, littered with black and blue bruises. Most of them were minor, but one near his side was larger than the rest. That must have been where Souda had overpowered him. Hajime sqeezed some salve into his palm and began gently smearing it over the bruises. Despite his best efforts, Nagito still let out pained whimpers at his touch. "Sorry- This'll hurt." Hajime muttered distractedly.

"It's okay-" he said, voice trembling. "I've endured worse." he chuckled, closing his eyes as he let his hair fall and his hand drop onto the bed.

Those words chilled Hajime straight to the core. He remembered Nagito's stories from before. Enduring a plane crash, being kidnapped by a murderer and held for multiple days. He really had been through hell and back. The words that spilled out of Hajime's lips after that thought were entirely instictive and unprompted. He didn't even realize he'd uttered them until after the fact.  
"You won't get hurt like that again, I'll make sure of it."

"How heroic of you!" he grinned, finally relaxing, his head beginning to nod as he fought to keep awake.

"S-shut up" Hajime stuttered, embarrassed. He moved to treat the bigger of the bruises, covering it in salve as gently as he could. Nagito swayed slightly, obviously from fatigue, and Hajime had to steady him with one hand. "You could lie down if you want, so you can sleep" He suggested.

"Thank you." he said, too tired to humbly beg his thanks, slumping down face first into the pillow. "I'm so tired..." He murmured muted.

"I can see that" Hajime said, amusement creeping into his voice. "Could you roll over? I need to reach your stomach."

He compliantly rolled over onto his back, giving Hinata a tired smile as they made eye contact. "Thinking about what Hiyoko said?" he teased.

"What? No?!" Hajime practically shrieked. Truth was, yeah he kind of was. And not in a "Wow, Hiyoko sure says some weird stuff, she's totally wrong though" - type way, but in a "Holy shit his skin is actually really soft and kind of nice to touch, maybe Hiyoko was right" kind of way. Not that he'd ever admit that, of course. There was no way he was into something like that.

"I could do this myself if you're very uncomfortable with it," he said, stifling a yawn.

"You can barely keep your eyes open Komaeda" Hajime said, effectively putting a stop to that idea. "Don't worry about it, Hiyoko was just saying nonsense" (Nonsense that might have some truth to it)

"Mm if you say so." he murmured, his eyelids drooping as his breathing slowed and soon enough, Nagito had fallen asleep.

Hajime finished treating the bruises on his chest, smiling softly at Nagito's sleeping form. He'd admitted to having bruises on his legs as well, but taking of Nagito's pants whilst he was asleep felt... Wrong. He instead left the flask of salve on Nagito's nightstand, reasoning that he could treat the bruises on his legs himself when he woke up the next morning. Before Hajime left the cabin, he pulled the blanket off the bed and covered Nagito's sleeping form. Then he exited the cabin, locking the door behind him and headed for his own cabin, yawning widely the entire way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we really weren't joking about the bonding over food part


	6. Why did monokuma put in glass walls to the bathroom?- The continuation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oof

The next morning Nagito awoke to the Monokuma morning announcement in a pool of sweat, his body sore and aching all over. That was okay though, he deserved something like this. He forced himself into an upright position. He sighed as he realized he'd have to change his sheets. Maybe a tablecloth could do...  
He groaned in pain as he got out of bed and dragged himself to the shower, waving to the security camera before he stepped inside.

Hajime was jolted awake from the shrill tones of the Monokuma announcement. He groaned, rubbing his eyes as he pulled himself out of bed and began getting ready for his day. When he pulled on his pants, he noted that the objects in his pocket seemed heavier than normal. He emptied its content and two small Keys, each emblazoned with a small Monokuma decor, fell into his palm. Right, Nagito. He should probably go and let him out, he should also be awake now after the Monokuma announcement.

The droplets of water felt heavy on his bruises but as the grime washed away with the dirt he felt almost euphoric. He shuddered and felt his body react. Hinata-kun would probably be here in a while anyway. Maybe he even forgot Nagito was there. He had time, he decided and indulged himself, imagining Hajime's hands from yesterday touching him that gently again - no, that was too dirty of a fantasy. To even dare dream of an ultimate wanting to touch him- ridiculous. But a fantasy never harmed anyone, so why not allow it just this once? Then back he went, remembering how gentle Hajime had been with him and maybe, maybe, in another universe where Nagito wasn't worthless scum who fantasized about what he wanted to call his friend, Hajime could actually like him back.

Hajime carefully knocked on the door to Nagito's cabin. When he got no answer, he immediately began to worry. Had something happened? With his bruised and malnutritioned body, even someone like Hiyoko could've easily overpowered Nagito, provided that he would've even fought back, that it. Hajime pounded harder at the door, but he got no reply. All the windows were covered, save for the one next to the door, and when Hajime peered in through that one, he was met with a chilling sight. Nagito's nightclothes laid haphazardly thrown on the floor, and the sheets on his bed looked messy, almost like someone had tried to pull them off. Hajime could only see half of the cabin interior from his viewpoint, but his imagination was already running wild with nightmare scenarios. He returned to the door and pounded as hard as he could, but when no reply came he quickly fished out Nagito's key and unlocked the door. No sign of Nagito in the cabin at all, at least not until Hajime looked to the bathroom. Oh god no please no. The first thing Hajime felt was immense relief, quickly overpowered by an overwhelming embarrassment and- something else. Hajime stood, almost transfixed, watching the water run down Nagito's pale skin. He swallowed thickly.

At first Nagito didn't notice Hajime entering as he'd been too caught up in the fantasy where someone had actually loved him back, his own touches looping him out of it, but as soon as he left his high with a moan, resembling somewhat of a name, and curled up on the floor panting he began growing aware of his surroundings.  
"Oh my God, Hinata, what, when did you get here?!" he shrieked, immediately reaching for his towel to cover himself, not even bothering to turn off the shower.  
"I'm so sorry you had to see such a disgusting sight - I-" his throat choked up. "I'm so sorry, I wish I could've died right here of shame and you wouldn't have had to see or hear that, scum like me should just drop dead," he rambled quietly.

Hajime stood in front of the glass door, cheeks the color of tomatoes. He'd not only walked in on Nagito showering, which would have been bad enough, but he'd been masturbating too. Hajime wished he could sink through the ground, preferably now enough that the pressure would obliterate his body. He dared to look up, seeing that Nagito had sunk down onto his knees, clutching a towel to cover his body despite the water still running from the shower. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were, red? Was he crying? God, Hajime must have scared him more than he'd thought. "God Nagito I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that, nothing could possibly excuse invading your privacy like that. I totally get it if you'd want someone else to supervise you- I mean of course you would, I abused the privilege a and did something so awful" Hajime rambled desperately.

Nagito reached back and turned off the shower, his bandages and towel completely soggy as he inched outside of the shower. They were rambling apologies in chorus, not listening to one another, Nagito's string of apologies quickly spiraling into suicide plans.  
"Hinata- I'm so sorry, I should just kill myself, throw myself in the ocean or hit Monokuma or take pills or stab myself or starve myself so you don't ever have to see something so vile like that ever again-"

As Nagito walked closer, Hajime recognized a glint of fear in his eyes. God, he's afraid of me? What the hell have I done? He thought. He was close to panicking, resigning himself to leaving and possibly never sharing a private moment with Nagito again, whilst simultaneously wanting to stay with the other. He took a deep breath, first now realizing that Nagito was speaking, quickly almost as if he was throwing the words at him. The jumbled mess of apologies and self deprecation left a bad taste in Hajime's mouth. Swallowing his own embarrassment and fear, Hajime placed his hands on Nagito's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad at you" He said, in as calming a voice as he could muster.

Guilt still troubled Nagito's mind and his cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame. He shouldn't have let himself indulge in such ludicrous fantasies. Like Hajime would ever look at him like that or touch him. If he knew he'd just be disgusted. As if he weren't already. He probably heard it all. Or he didn't. If did then he definitely wouldn't be touching him right now. He'd be running outside to go to the others and everyone would lock him up again-  
If it was the thing they needed to feel hope again he'd definitely do it-

"Are you listening, Nagito? You need to calm down" The other's breathing had sped up to an alarming rate, and Hajime was doing all he could to try to calm him down. "I'm not mad at you, you're not in trouble, nobody is going to lock you up. Do you understand me?"

Nagito looked up at him worried and scared, his soggy towel still tightly wrapped around himself. "I should get dressed," he said with a shaky voice.

"Y-yeah, of course. I'll um-" Hajime backed toward the exit slowly. "A-also, I'll talk to the others, seeing as you probably don't want me as a supervisor, I'll take care of that" He said, voice heavy. But he knew it had to be done, no way Nagito would be okay with trusting him again, not after what he'd done.

He knew it, he heard it all, he doesn't want to be around me anymore. "I-if you change, may I have my key back?" he asked, still shaken. He fucked up, Hajime wouldn't ever look at him again.

"Of course, but before I go, Nagito." Hajime looked at the other softly "Are you sure you're alright? You're shaking." And he was. Nagito's entire body was trembling violently, almost to the point where it looked like it hurt.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good, I'm fine." he smiled innocently, wobbling over to the wardrobe in his room and pulled out a drawer with his underwear in it, his hair still dripping wet.

"I- okay, I'll leave you alone. Just, I'm sorry, okay? I get why you'd not want to but-" Hajime stopped himself. He had no right to demand anything from Nagito. "I'm really sorry," He said, bowing his head in apology.

"Nono, it's okay- I shouldn't have, as if I wasn't disgusting enough." he swallowed hard and put on underwear. "I should've figured out that you'd be coming soon, I shouldn't have-"

"What?" Hajime said, suddenly confused. "You're not... Mad at me?" The way Nagito was talking, it almost seemed like he'd somehow deluded himself into thinking that HE had done something wrong. But, that couldn't be, right?

"Why would I be mad at you?" he asked, pulling on pants and a shirt. "You just got here to let me out, you didn't do anything. I'm the one who's a vile, disgusting, scumbag excuse for a human being if even that."

"A-are you serious right now?! I broke into your private cabin, I watched you and infringed on your privacy- Komaeda, how could you possibly think any of this was YOUR fault?" Hajime exclaimed, taking a deep breath to try to calm down.

"I knew or- I thought there was a possibility that you'd be coming soon but I still did that-" he explained. "And you didn't break in, you opened the door with the key I gave you."

Hajime felt the guilt and anxiety run off of him like water. "So, just to clarify, you're not mad at me? You don't want me to find you another supervisor?"

"It's up to you, if you're even more disgusted by me I'd recommend changing," he said, pulling on his shirt and went to look for a dry towel.

Hajime felt a laugh spill out from his lips. Nagito looked at him strangely, but he couldn't stop. The relief he felt was overwhelming, and in another circumstance, he would've questioned why on earth he felt so strongly, but now all he could feel was happiness. Nagito wasn't afraid of him, hadn't hated him. Despite himself, Hajime just couldn't stop laughing. "I'm so relieved," He said, smiling. "I-I don't even know, I just- you really scared me Komaeda!"

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I should just go die," he said, smiling at the floor and joined his laughter, reaching for his socks.

"Don't worry about it" Hajime said, still smiling. "Now then, how does breakfast sound? Let's go and meet the others" Hajime refused to let the remainder that Mahiru and Peko wouldn't be joining them let him down. There was nothing he could do but look forward.

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan." he nodded and walked out the door with Hinata following close by.

\---

Breakfast was... Intense. After the whole ordeal with Hiyoko, the atmosphere was muted. Everyone was worried about Fuyuhiko, and Hajime wasn't certain, but it felt like he was being avoided too. He supposed it wasn't illogical since he'd both entered together and say together with Nagito (despite his protests), but it stung nonetheless. After breakfast, Monomi came and let them know that a new Island had been opened, and they decided to investigate it together, hoping to find some parts that might be salvaged for a ship.

Nagito silently followed Hajime that day, not wanting to stand in the way, only going on a hope rant at lunch, starting a fight with Kazuichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we REALLY weren't kidding when we said there was a lot of bonding over food.


	7. In which we go so out of character that we get Hi-Nya-Ta uwu

The new Island was a whirlwind of impressions and sights for Hajime. He viewed everything from the music venue (Titty Typhoon. The name had sounded like English, but when he'd asked Sonia for a translation she'd been laughing too hard to answer,) to the Motel and the Movie theater. Nagito had followed him silently, almost like a shadow, and Hajime soon gave up on trying to make conversation with him. Maybe he was simply lost in thought, Hajime didn't know and he could never read Nagito's emotions.

Once in the movie theater Nagito spoke up. "I'm gonna watch the movie," he said quietly, slipping away from Monokuma trying to urge Hajime into watching it with him.

"Hang on," Hajime said, grabbing onto Nagito's wrist to stop him in his tracks. "I-is it something I did? You've been quiet all day and- Is it because of this morning? I said I'm sorry-" He quieted. When Hajime was stressed or nervous, he spoke quickly, without his brain really keeping up. It had been to his advantage in class trials, where he could latch onto logical deductions without worrying about the fact that he was sentencing a classmate to death, but it was a huge problem in... other situations.

"No, not really. I just want to not blow any money on a crappy sticker." he shrugged and got his stamp from Monokuma and was let in.

"Nagito wait!" Hajime yelled after him, but he was gone. Dammit. Hajime quickly left the theater before Monokuma could come back and convince (threaten) him to watch the movie as well. He decided to use the free time while Nagito was watching the movie, to investigate the Hospital. They had gone close before, but Nagito had seemed incredibly uncomfortable near the building, which Hajime found normal since he'd probably spent a lot of time there if his dramatic life was any indication, so they hadn't entered. He wondered what would be inside.

When Hajime entered the building Mikan greeted him as cheerfully as she dared. "H-Hinata-san! Come se what I found!" she exclaimed.

Hajime followed her through the winding hallways, doing his best to keep up as Mikan explained the names and functions of all the medical equipment they passed. He wondered what she could have found that had her so excited, she hadn't even wiped her eyes once for the duration of their conversation. They came to a halt in front of a door, and Hajime could hear muffled voices from the other side. "-Life of mine is a spare anyway," "No way! Now that you've finally returned to us!" That had been Sonia, and the one who'd spoken earlier, Fuyuhiko?

Tsumiki held open the door for Hinata, smiling insecurely as he stepped in. "I-I found Fuyuhiko-san admissioned here!"  
In a matter of minutes, the rest of the people on the island assembled in Fuyuhiko's room.

They all gathered around Fuyuhiko's bed, listening to him bitterly recanting his and Peko's mutual past. Hajime couldn't help sympathizing with the guy, it must be awful to harbour such strong feelings for someone and not having them understand. Hiyoko was the only one not participating, she was pressed against a wall, eyeing the others with annoyance. At one point, Sonia tried to talk to her, but she was met with a "Shut up you whore! You're almost as disgusting as Pig barf over there!"... After that they had left Hiyoko to sulk in peace.

"Wait wait wait, hold up, I don't want Crazy no.1 anywhere near Crazy no.2." Soda interjected, pulling all metaphorical breaks. "Especially not alone."

Hajime groaned. "This again, Souda? I've been with Komaeda all day, he hasn't had the chance to do anything sketchy." He crossed his arms over his chest, but before he could continue, Gundham spoke up. "I must say, for once I agree with the boisterous one. There's a certain dark Aura surrounding him, and it is reminding me of the darkness spewing out of the Daemon Lord of the twilight realm I slew a few eons ago." 

"Told you, he's freakishly quiet for once, who knows what he's planning? We already know he lusts for blood, how do we know mr yakuza here wont use him?" Soda said, suspiciously eyeing Hajime, Nagito and Fuyuhiko.

"Okay, Kazuichi, I realize you're freaked out but you need to stop. Nagito had *Nothing* to do with the last murder, and I've already promised to make sure he doesn't try anything" Hajime said, voice growing louder with frustration. "U-u-um, I'm terribly s-sorry if I'm b-being impeding, but I really don't think you should, um, s-shout in front of t-the patient" Mikan said timidly, looking at them both.

"Ah, I can leave, don't worry. I'll leave, and then Soda-san can relax." Nagito smiled innocently, turning on his heel. "I have more areas I want to look around."

Hajime rushed out after him. "I swear to god, Souda gets on my nerves sometimes" He mutters, running a hand through his spiked brown hair. "Anyway, did you discover anything interesting at the movie theater?"

"A really bad movie. You did the right thing not watching it." he said, shaking his head with a sigh. "I sure monokuma only did it to torture us further."

"Ouch," He winced, "it must have been really bad if that's coming from you"

Nagito laughed. "Yeah, it wasn't even well made," he chuckled, a comfortable warmth blooming in his chest, giving Hajime a genuine smile.

"So, what else did you want to investigate? We've been practically all over the island" Hajime's heart sang at the sight of Nagito's smile. He hadn't quite recognized the other without it.

"Just an excuse to get out of there." he shrugged. "I'll have to thank Soda-san later," Nagito declared, determined. "We could check out the Electric Avenue. Who knows what we'll find with my luck?"

Hajime had guessed something to that effect, but since Nagito was now set to investigate Electric Avenue, he shrugged and said: "Sure, why not."

The two spent a remainder of the day digging through dysfunctional electrical junk and goofing off.  
While digging through an audio store Nagito found amongst other things a pair of cat ear headphones and put them on, jogging over to the game store Hajime was exploring.  
"He-hewwo hi-nya-ta kun? Hawe you seen a-nya-thing usefuw yet?" he chirped, popping his head into the store.

"You- holy shit if you never do that again I will die happy" Hajime said, trying to pry the awful headphones off of Nagito.

Komaeda burst out laughing hard, backing out, guarding his cat ears. "OwO you don't wike them, Hi-nya-ta?" he laughed, giving him a pout

"Did you just *sound out* OwO?" Hajime said, deadpan. He followed after Nagito, hands reaching to pry the god-awful things from his head, but Nagito kept ducking away.

"Awe don't wowwy, Hinyata- there's a pair for you too!" he chirped, jogging back to the audio store.

"Don't you fucking dare Komae-" Hajime yelled in protest, but Nagito pressed a heaset over his head before he could finish his sentence. "Hey- careful, it's not easy to style my hair you know!"

"I wouldn't know. I wake up every morning and," he flicked his hair. "flawless~" he snorted and headed for the store across the street.

Hajime agressively pulled of his headphones and followed after the other. "Well I'd bet the reason why your hair is that fluffy is just that, you just wake up in it. At this point even gravity is making sure you have permanent bedhead!"

Nagito chuckled and looked round the room. "I wonder if /that/ still works?" he said, pointing to a mini drone in a locked counter.

Hajime took his chance while Nagito was distracted, getting up behind him and pulling off his headphones. "Ha!" he shouted triumphantly. Then he turned his attention to where Nagito was pointing. " Huh, you know how to use that?"

"It's just a toy. Maybe they have bigger drones in the back. We could use one if we find one with a camera to look around at where we are." he speculated.   
"They're not really hard to fly. It's up and down on one control and steering with the other."

"Souda would probably be able to find a use for these," Hajime mused. Let's see if we find anything.

"The damn door is locked." Nagito duly noted once he located it. "Your ultimate talent doesn't happen to be lockpicking?" he asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately not," Hajime said. He tried to pull on the handle, but the door wouldn't budge, no matter how hard he tried. "It's no use" he concluded, "We'll have to look elsewhere".

"We could ask Nekomaru to break it down?" he suggested, finding a catalog lying around. 

"Upupupuuuu" The noise came from behind them, and both boys were well aware of what the cause was. "What the hell are you doing here?" Hajime hissed through gritted teeth. Monokuma was the last person(bear?) he wanted to see. "Weeell... Truth be told, I was becoming rather bored. You see, I've actually hidden something here, a kind of treasure if you will. And when you two decided to investigate, I'd presumed you would find it. It had my heart skipping beats left and right, I'll have you know!" Monokuma paced back and forth in-between the electric junk, and Hajime had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. "But you guys were to busy playing around like children to find my carefully laid out clues! I mean really, if you missed that, you'd be complaining about a lack of foreshadowing later, and we all know that is a testament of lazy writing! Sooo I've decided to give you a hint! Aren't I Nice?" Monokuma gestured to a pile of beat up laptops to their right." There, go search over there!"

Nagito looked over to the laptop pile, compliantly walking over to it and took a few, sitting down on the ground and flipped up the screens and button-mashed the keyboards at random to see if one would start.

Incredibly, the first laptop Nagito touched happened to be the only one among the bunch to actually work. Once he'd tried to activate them all, he notified Hajime who was looking through a bin close by, and they gathered in front of the screen. There was only one downloaded program on the computer, and since the computer wasn't connected to the internet, that was the only thing they could access. The program was labeled Usami X Files, and Nagito opened it tentatively.

The file held information about The biggest, Most awful, Most tragic event in Human history, information which seemed to corroborate what Monokuma had told them earlier about this supposed "genocidal tragedy."   
Nagito, of course, knew better than to believe the words of their mechanical captor, nevermind the fact that such Despair couldn't possibly run rampant without an even greater hope springing up in its wake.

But more importantly, and interestingly, the file held information about the so-called "Reserve Department" of Hopes Peak Academy. According to the file, The Tragedy's inception was due to a protest from the Reserve Department, where they desired the same treatment as the Main Course.   
Nagito had never heard of this Reserve Department before, no doubt a consequence of his irrefutable ignorance and fatuity, when compared to his Ultimate classmates. He decided to ask Hajime. "Hey Hinata-kun, have you heard of anything like this?"

"I- I don't remember, it feels like it's supposed to sound familiar, but there's nothing I've ever Heard of it. Or maybe I have, and my memories of it were removed." Hajime said confused, his gut stirring at the mention of the reserve course. "I don't have any memories surrounding any of it though."

"Hmmmm?" Monokuma made his presence known, startling both boys. "You don't know, Hajime? But you, if anyone, should recognize it!" Hajime furrowed his brows in confusion. "Well, I haven't heard of it either... Or at least I don't remember it." Nagito said slowly. Reserve Department. The name didn't sound very hopeful, whatever it was.  
"Oh well, I suppose that can't be helped!" Monokuma cheered, "Those memories must have been erased too! So sad!"

"What does he mean?" Hajime quietly asked Nagito. "Why should I remember?"

"Ah- well he's probably just messing with you." Nagito theorized, seeing the confusion in Hajime's expression. "And besides, as an Ultimate, I have faith that you'll eventually reach the truth! So you don't need to worry." 

"Are there any cameras around here we could use to take pictures of this so we can analyze it later?" Hajime asked, looking around at the shops. "There's gotta be something."

"I'm afraid I didn't find anything..." Nagito mused, looking around slowly. He stood and began rifling through a pile of what looked like old an broken gaming consoles, "I'm sorry Hinata-kun, I'm so useless I can't even find something as simple as that."

"You're not useless-" Hajime began, but rendered opposing him a waste of time. He'd probably just spiral even further." "Don't worry, I haven't found anything either. We'll just have to memorize it."

"Hinata-kun, you're far too nice" Nagito praised, but nodded. Truth be told, he already had it memorized. Anything that had to do with Hopes Peak was far to important to forget, after all.

They looked at the computer for a while and Nagito scrolled up and down. "Look here," He said, pointing to a part of the screen. "After it mentions the Reserve Course revolting, the screen becomes too garbled to read. I wonder why...?"

"It's probably just Monokuma keeping us on edge." Hajime sighed annoyed. "He keeps treating this like some recreational game."

Nagito sighed. "I guess you're right," he agreed. "Well, no point in deliberating further, if that's the case, right?" He looked up to see the sky darkening. "Oh dear, it seems it's already turning a bit late. We should probably go meet up with the others, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, that seems fair enough. Check your handbook to see where they are?" Hajime asked of Nagito, standing up and offered his hand to Komaeda to help him too up.

They came to the conclusion that the other's had gathered in the dining hall, and so they decided to go there. "Oh, why hello there, Hinata-san and Komaeda-san. We're comparing notes on what we found on the new island" They were greeted by Sonia.   
"Oh nice, it's the lovebirds again." Sneered Hiyoko from behind a steaming mug of what was probably tea (with at least 10 pieces of sugar, if Nagito knew her at all.) Nagito flinched at the words, thinking about how awful they must sound to Hajime. An insinuation that hajime might be involved with Nagito might as well be one of the gravest insults one could offer.   
"Hello to you too, Hiyoko," He greeted cheerfully nonetheless. "I'm afraid you're wrong though, you see, Hajime has far better tastes than that!"

"After we went to Electric Avenue again we found some laptops, one working partly, " Hajime told his classmates, ignoring Hiyokos comment. If only she knew they'd never hear the end of it. Man was he glad they didn't change supervisors.

They summarized the contents of the laptops for the others, but nobody had any clue what the Reserve Department was. "Is that a food? Otherwise I won't know it." Akane concluded, going back to the gigantic pile of beef on her plate. "So, what did you guys find?" Nagito asked after Hajime was done explaining. 

"I found something amaaaaaazing!" Ibuki exclaimed. "The music venue is operatable!"

Sonia perked up. "Oh truly? That is "Freaking lit" as they say" Hiyoko groaned audibly, but that didn't deter Sonia in the slightest. 

"So peeps! I have a biiiiiiiiiiiig announcement! Someone dropped something in your mailboxes, so you should probably go them out!" Mioda cheered, doing her trademark (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)

"Ah- A surprise? How lovely!"   
Nagito exclaimed. He was certain that whatever it was, it must be great since the idea came from an Ultimate.   
"Hmph, I highly doubt you were able to break the astral barrier that surrounds my parcel coffer. One does not send written correspondence to the Supreme Overlord of Ice so easily." Gundham declared, booming laughter sounding throughout the dining area.   
"Seriously, couldn't you just say mailbox?" Souda complained.

"I'll check my mailbox, Ibuki." Hajime promised her, giving the girl a smile.

"Yahoo!" The girl exclaimed! That makes one for the super awesome surprise!"

"I understand, well in case your barrier has prevented the mail from arriving, why don't you accompany me. I'll show you what she sent me," Sonia suggested, smiling widely. Kazuichi got tears in his eyes and glared at Gundham with what could only be described as true betrayal. 

There you have your real lovebirds, Hiyoko-san. To ever Think Hajime-kun would have that poor taste in people that he'd even look at me is pathetic. As the ultimate traditional dancer I thought for sure you'd be more perceptive to details, Nagito thought with a bitter smile at the pig-tailed girl. "Do you Think there is one delivered for me too?" Nagito asked no one, wondering if they'd want such a miserable presence as his own at whatever event Ibuki had planned.

"Well, she did say everyone, didn't she." Hajime answered, "That includes you too." 

"Indeed it does!" Ibuki grinned. "Everyone is invited, and everyone is going to have a grrrrreat time!" 

"Could we maybe have that great time tomorrow?" Chiaki suggested, her sentence punctured by a big yawn. She swayed slightly where she stood, and Hajime was kind of scared she'd fall asleep on the way to her cottage. "Mmm... I'm sleepy" She mumbled, surprising exactly no one.

"Hmmm... Well, you all should go check out the location of where the Music venue is first Before you go back!" Ibuki said, immediately perking up, obviously getting ready to sprint back to the hotel and probably change the invites. Nagito still wondered though, was he really invited. Someone like him couldn't ever Dream of being lumped together with people as amazing as the ultimates of Hope's Peak.

Chiaki yawned again but didn't protest, and everyone walked toward the music venue together. "What do you think she's planning anyway?" Asked Hajime, shivering slightly in the humid night air.

"Well, she is the ultimate musician, so probably something along those tracks." Chiaki pointed out, drowsy.

"I guess" Hajime muttered. "I just don't get why she couldn't just tell us, I mean we were all gathered together"

"She must've wanted to add the element of surprise!" Sonia exclaimed. I'm truly looking forward to hearing her perform!"

"Fuhahaha! Enticing though it may seem, 't is nothing compared to the seductive tunes of the demons in the underworld, that I can promise you" Gundam interjected.

"Whoa! That sounds so cool! You'll have to let me hear it someday!" Sonia said, starry-eyed. 

Nagito gave Hajime a glance behind the two. "Are you cold, Hinata-kun?"

Hajime shook his head but crossed his arms over his chest (in hindsight walking around at night with only a T-shirt might not have been his best idea) "I'm fine Komaeda, just a little chilly"

"You could borrow my jacket if you want?" he offered, already taking it off, only earning a sneer from Hiyoko in the process. "Not even your stupid boyfriend would wan to wear your gross jacket."

Hajime had wanted to decline, but Hiyoko's comment made him take the offered garment. He looked Hiyoko straight in the eyes, and pulled it on, marveling at how warm it was. And it kind of... Smelled like Nagito too. He gave a big smile, "Thank you, Nagito. Let me know if you get cold and want it back, okay?"

Nagito gave an affirming nod as Hajime took it, smiling for himself as they walked. "Gross," Hiyoko spat out and bounded ahead of them to join Akane.

They soon reached the Music venue, all coming to stop in front of the big building. "Wonder what Ibuki wanted us to do here in the first place," Hajime mused, pulling Nagito's coat a little tighter around him. Wearing it made him remember that time at the pharmacy, for some reason. Nagito had comforted him then, and though Hajime still hadn't quite recovered from the shock of the previous cases, for some reason he felt a little better.

"Probably just needed a distraction to change the time on your invites." Nagito speculated, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Hajime shrugged. The others had seemingly come to a similar conclusion, because they all started to scatter, heading towards their cabins. As they approached the first Island, Hajime shrugged off Nagito's coat. "Hey thanks, this is really comfy" He smiled

"Yeah. Do you-" he wanted it back, but Hajime looked so comfortable and he owed him it after this morning's accident. "I think I'll try to head to bed soon." Nagito decided to tell him instead.

"No wait, I'm returning this to you silly!" Hajime said amusedly, handing the jacket to Nagito "What? You thought I was just going to keep it?"

"I'll shower immediately after the Monokuma announcement and it'll take about 5 minutes." he notified him instead of answering.

"What? Okay, do you want me to wait and return it afterward? " Hajime said, thoroughly confused. Why couldn't Nagito just take his damn jacket?

"So we don't get a repeat of this morning. You weren't very comfortable with it." he chuckled darkly and took his jacket. "Goodnight Hinata-kun"

"Oh- um Right. Sorry, yeah. Do you want help with your bruises tonight again or?" Hajime asked, feeling the embarrassment of the morning returning like a punch to the gut.

"I- I'll be alright. You helped plenty yesterday, may I add that was so kind. I can't believe you actually stayed to help filth like me to heal, you could have just killed me there and then but you didn't, you truly must have an amazing talent- maybe even ultimate kindness! Just thinking about it fills me with hope - to think that I get to be around people like you all the time! "Nagito exclaimed, the other students quickly clearing into their rooms.

"Komaeda, you don't sound certain, please be honest with me." Hajime began, then he was reminded of the days activities. Nagito had claimed that he hadn't been upset, and yet he'd practically refused to speak a word the entire day up until they investigated Electric Avenue. Maybe being around Hajime really did make him uncomfortable, and he wanted to be as far away as possible. In that case, it was good that Nagito had finally mustered up the courage to say what he wanted. But there was an equal possibility that Nagito was just acting the way he was to not be a bother, in which case- Argh! He's impossible to read!   
"Nagito, please just tell me what you want. I'll leave you alone if you want me to. But don't say what you think I'll want, or need, to hear. Please, not knowing what you want is driving me mad!" Hajime said, gasping for breath. He'd been building this up for a while now, the frustrating uncertainty. This had simply been the final nail in the coffin.

Nagito stayed silent for a while. "... I need help reaching my back." he admitted. "But it's fine, I can manage! To think that I made you so uncomfortable- I could just kill myself," he reasoned.

The tightening in Hajime's chest disappeared suddenly. "Thank you" He breathed, feeling his lips quirk into a smile "Thank you for being honest with me Komaeda. Should we do the same as last night then?"

Nagito smiled. "How kind of you, typ go through the trouble of making sure that a vile piece of garbage is taken care of, it must cause you so much anguish and despair yet you still do it. That hope is beautiful!" he went on, opening his door and offered Hinata to come inside

Hajime picked up the flask of salve from where he'd left it on Nagito's bedside table the previous night. "Right then, if you would take of your shirt?" He said, smearing the salve over his palm. 

"At least wine and dine me first!" Nagito joked with a chuckle but took off his shirt anyway and sat down on the bed, his spotty back towards Hajime.

"S-shut up" Hajime muttered, turning his attention to Nagito's back. He held in a gasp. The brusing was better than the previous day, but it still looked horribly painful, Hajime couldn't imagine the pain if Nagito bumped into something, or if someone bumped into him. They sat in silence for a few while, no sound except for Nagito's slow breathing and Hajime's heart pounding in his ears.   
He wanted to talk about something, wanted an answer even if he answer he'd get probably wasn't the one he wanted. But if he was too pushy here, if he fucked it up- Hajime still had no idea what triggered Nagito, but he'd done it once and he never wanted to again. He steeled himself, and took a deep breath.   
"Komaeda- about earlier, why do you always do that? Put yourself down, I mean. I don't get it. I mean, I've spent time with you, and you're funny and sweet when you want to so-"

"That's because sometimes I get ahead of myself and forget my rank. I'm just a stepping stone for you ultimates to reach hope." he chuckled, fiddling with his nails.

"Yeah- this is exactly what I'm talking about. Komaeda, you talk as if you're beneath all of us as if we're some kind of- I don't know deities or something." Hajime tested the waters tentatively. He still hadn't gotten a proper answer, but he wasn't giving up just yet.

"You kind of are though. You all have this ultimate talent, this power which you can fully control." he said, dreaming himself away. "You can't help but idolize you when you solve one murder mystery after another, your hope shining even brighter than ever before!"

"Yeah but Komaeda, you're an Ultimate too, you know? The only reason why we even solved the previous case was because of you- hell the reason why I even pulled myself together enough to investigate was because of you." And, Hajime thought bitterly, I can't even remember my talent in the first place. 

"Yeah, but I have such a useless talent. Tell me Hinata, what do you think luck is?" Nagito asked, parting his hair for Hajime to better reach.

"I- well, " Luck? Hajime just thought it was something that existed, giving no bias and just awarding certain people whilst taking from others. But, he supposed, had he lived a life like Nagito, a life completely govered by luck. "Well to you, I suppose luck must be- absolute power. Right?"

"Precisely! For me, that's exactly what good luck is! Regardless...it's a power that has terrible results due to the fact that I can't wield it with my own will." Nagito told him. "For example, I wake up in this killing game, bad luck, right?"

"Well yeah, but the killing game isn't your luck's fault, it's Monokumas and whoever is controlling him, right? And besides, if what you told me about your luck is true, then you should have had good luck to compensate, right?" Hajime thought about Nagito's situation. His bruised body, how all of their classmates went out of their ways to avoid him. How scared Nagito had been in the kitchen the other day, terrified that something might hurt him, or Hajime." You haven't exactly had an abundance of good luck recently, right?"

"Yeah I did, I got my first friend in forever!" he said cheerily. "And if that isn't good luck then I don't know what is. I even fell for them! Sadly, because of my ridiculously bad luck and stupidity, he's now disgusted by me and probably only talks to me because he feels obliged to." Nagito huffed amused. 

Hajime stilled his hands, color rising to his cheeks. Nagito had made a friend, someone who he'd fallen for? Someone on the Island, that talks to him regularly. It couldn't be, right? He couldn't mean... "N-Nagito do you mean-" Hajime was too shocked to even finish the sentence. His heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest, it was as if everything but the two of them faded away.

"Ah, I'll take the rest now, Hinata - kun. You don't have to be here any longer if you're uncomfortable. I totally get it, being around someone like me for some time is enough to make anyone run screaming." Nagito said, letting his hair down.

"No! Like fucking hell you are, you don't get to drop a bomb on me like that and just act like it's nothing! A-answer my question, please. I need to hear it from you." Hajime's chest was pounding so hard he felt Nagito must be able to hear it, but the other sat quietly next to him, rejection written all over his face." A-and I-"Hajime began, burying his red face in his hands. "I never said I don't- y'know..."

"I- I think it's better if we leave it off here, I'm tired and want to sleep." Nagito said, reaching for his shirt.

"N-no Komaeda! Please, don't shrug this off like everything else. I can't--I mean I won't-" Hajime stuttered, hoping his pleas wouldn't land on deaf ears.

"Hm?" Nagito turned around to face him with an innocent smile. "You can't what?"

"I can't just leave this alone! Y-you just confessed your feelings for me, for gods sake. I can't just pretend I don't know that!" Hajime looked down slowly, he wouldn't get anywhere when he was this worked up. "Listen, I know you're probably scared, terrified even, of what will come of this. And I won't lie- I'm scared too, I think it's be impossible not to be in our situation. But don't just ignore it because of that! I'm... I can't do that"

"You should though. I'm the end you'll just end up becoming the next victim to my luck." Nagito pointed out, pulling on his shirt.

"You keep saying that, that I'll become a victim of your luck. But you know what? I don't believe in your luck cycle" Hajime said, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. Something had irked him about the explanation Nagito had given before, about his luck. "You said that the killing game was bad luck, and meeting me was good, right? But then you said that the incident this morning was caused by your bad luck, correct?" Nagito nodded slowly. "Well, it wasn't luck that made me enter your cabin, I was worried about you. I knocked on the door but you didn't answer, and when I looked through your window your room was in disarray and you were nowhere to be seen? Do you see, that wasn't your luck at all. "

"But how come you came right then to check on me? Why would you even check on me, I'm such a vile human being, worthless, to the point where people don't even let me take their punishment." he chuckled, rubbing his temples.

Hajime chuckled "Well we have the same alarm clock, don't we? We both wake up to the Monokuma announcement. Is it really that big of a stretch to imagine that we'd wake up at the same time?" He swallowed his fear, and slowly reached out a hand to the other boy. "And besides, we're friends, you said so yourself. Of course I'd come and check on you, you were hurting. Come on Komaeda, don't you see? Not everything is governed by your luck!"

"I- no. It is, because otherwise my alarm wouldn't ring, or- something else like that." he shook his head. "And if it wasn't for my luck you'd never have become my friend, plus you had to walk in on that, there's no way you're not grossed out!"

Hajime sighed. "Komaeda, you're a teenage boy. Trust me, I don't blame you for, you know.  
And, don't you think you're making a bit too many excuses? I mean, I doubt Monokuma would stand for it, even if you somehow didn't get the alarm. He'd jump down here and wake you himself, don't you think?" Hajime watched the other carefully, still seeing no answers in his unreadable expression. But somehow, he felt as if he was getting through to Nagito, little by little.

"So you didn't hear?" he asked, relief washing over him just to be replaced by guilt. "I don't know what's worse.." He laughed.

"Hear what? Komaeda, what do you mean?" Truth be told, Hajime barely remembered anything from that morning. From the moment that he first laid eyes on Nagito, his memories were a hazy mess of embarrassment, guilt, fear, (and a small bit of arousal, though he'd not yet realized it himself)  
"Well whatever it is, you don't need to worry so much, okay? I'm not leaving you over one thing, no matter how horrible you think it is"

"I need time to think.." He sighed, inner turmoil over whether or not to tell him stirring. On one hand he didn't know! He could go on as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, Hajime had been so nice to him, he didn't deserve getting lied to.

"O-okay. Time, huh... I can give you that." Hajime said, somewhat unsure. "As long as you promise to not give up or try to ignore this, and to explain your decision to me. I'll give you all the time you need" Hajime said decisively.

"Thank you. Can you leave now? I don't know if I can stay awake much longer and I don't want to pass out on you." Nagito asked, swaying a little and Hajime got up from the bed awkwardly. 

"Yeah, I could do that. Good night Komaeda." he said stiffly and left him."Sleep tight, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't forget to lock the door." Nagito hummed and plopped down on the pillow as soon as Hajime closed the door behind him.


	8. Despair disease and Hajime not being a complete idiot

Two days later, chaos on Jabberwock Island was about to ensue and it all started for Nagito with waking up in cold sweat, more than usual.

Hajime woke up as well, and he went about his morning as usual, dressing himself and steeling himself to go let Nagito out.  
Things had been... tense... between them since their talk two days ago. Hajime hadn't wanted to press him and had to trust that Nagito would come to him when he'd had enough time to think things over. As it was, Nagito had quietly followed Hajime for the majority of the previous day. They'd spent their free time reading in the library, and attended Ibuki's party in the evening. Nagito had been particularly stubborn then, not even entering the building until Hajime had gone ahead. He sighed as he approached Nagito's cabin, and knocked on the door.  
"Hey, Komaeda! Are you up?"

Nagito's brain felt fuzzy and static and he felt truly, genuinely like shit, his whole body aching as if he had a high fever. As his door unlocked, he wanted to cry. Everything hurt, he was tired, his head felt loopy and right now he just needed a hug.

The words cut Nagito's ears and he let out a pained whine. "Leave, Hinata!" he groaned, burying his face in his pillow.

"What? Komaeda what's going on?" Hajime asked through the door. Had he heard Nagito correctly? He'd known it was tense between them, but never that Nagito was that uncomfortable. "I need to open your door!"

"Go away, I don't want to be free I don't care about being locked up, just LEAVE!" he yelled, pulling the covers over his head.

"What? Nagito come on, if you don't explain yourself I'm coming in!" Hajime demanded, feeling confusion rise. Nagito had never acted this way before, and Hajime was getting kind of worried. Is he that adamant to forget about his confession?

"What part of leave don't you get?!" he exclaimed, partly muted by the pillow, close to tears, he didn't mean to say this, he just wanted a hug. It all hurt and he was so tired and everything was just bothersome.

"Okay, that's it. Komaeda, I'm coming in, make yourself decent, or whatever.." Hajime unlocked the door, and was met with the sight of Nagito, curled up on his bed, covers pulled over his head. "Hey, Nagito are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine!" he said, "Please just leave me alone!" Nagito pulled the covers tighter around himself and got out of bed to get dressed. "So just go."

"You don't look fine..." Hajime protested, getting closer. Nagito pulled the covers tighter around himself in response. He shivered beneath the covers, and Hajime couldn't help but notice the tremors getting more severe every second. Did he really hurt Nagito that bad?" Nagito, please, if I did anything to make you uncomfortable, please tell me. I promise I didn't want to hurt you" He pleaded.

"It's all your fault, get away from me!" he yelled, backing away, right now not just slapping himself mentally but K.O.ing himself from speaking such dishonesties and obviously hurting Hajime.

Hajime flinched. "A-alright... I'll leave you alone. But I'm getting Tsumiki to examine you, because you don't look fine" Hajime said dejectedly. He couldn't understand what he'd done to warrant such a violent reaction, but whatever it was it must have been severe.

A while later Nagito dragged himself up to the restaurant and when Hajime finally joined them Nagito was in the middle of telling a crying Akane about how they were getting a transfer student now that Nekomaru was dead.

Hajime entered the dining hall with a distraught Tsumiki in tow. They had gone to Nagito's cottage to look for him but had decided to continue their search in the dining hall once the had found it empty. "His s-symptoms indicate, um, p-probably s-some kind of v-virus" She stuttered as they entered the dining hall. "Okay, please do all you can to help him," Hajime implored, looking over at Nagito and Akane.

"Monokuma said that he sadly couldn't save him, so instead they're flying someone in as a replacement. His last words were quite condescending towards you," he told Akane who only began crying more because she didn't understand.

Mikan walked up to Nagito, "Um, Komaeda-san, I think you s-should be, um, examined... Oh!" She placed a hand on his wrist, but immediately retracted it "K-komaeda-san, you're b-burning up!" She exclaimed, putting a hand on his forehead. "Oh Ibuki is also burning!" Ibuki, who had just entered the dining hall, chimed in.

After a few chaotic moments, Monokuma appeared with his trademark "Upupupu! Some of you feeling a bit...under the weather?" Monokuma chimed gleefully, walking up to the students. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Hajime yelled accusingly.  
"You dare accuse me!? I thought we'd bonded Hinata" Monokuma cried in mock anguish. "Anyway, it seems some of your classmates have been afflicted with despair disease! Upupupu how horrible!"

"Yes! I'll immediately be afflicted!" Ibuki said curtly and obediently, Soda commenting on how maybe it was a good thing Teruteru was gone now that this happened to Ibuki.

Monokuma sauntered over to where Nagito, Ibuki and Akane were gathered. "Hmm... Well, it looks like Ibuki has gotten the gullible disease, Akane has the coward's disease, and Nagito has the lying disease. Hmm, I wonder if this will motivate any of you to kill, hmm?" Hajime was incredibly confused, for the second time in as many hours.  
"So you mean this disease is the motive?" He asked carefully. "And Nagito's is... lying?"

"Yep! The poor thing can't help but tell lies!" Monokuma gloated.

"How did such a travesty spread?" Sonia demanded to know, Soda shielding her from the infected by stepping between them.

"Hey Hinata-kun, let's go for a run today, I'm feeling really energized for some reason, I slept really well." Nagit piped in.

"Let's not, Komaeda" Hajime muttered distractedly. "Tsumiki, you haven't seen anything like this before?" 

Mikan got tears in her eyes, "" I-I'm afraid I've n-never seen anything l-like this.. I'm terribly sorry!" She wailed, clutching her head. 

Monokuma laughed gleefully, "Upupupu! Of course she hasn't! This disease was created by yours truly, and there's nothing like it in the entire world! Speaking of which... You guys are way to boring, react with some more gusto! Geez, I worked hard on this you know, and you guys are treating it like another predictable plot point! This makes me a sad bear... "

Hajime was too busy arguing with Monokuma to notice Nagito's tiny plea for his attention by his side as the cloud-haired boy was about to faint, his head spinning as he fought to stay upright, tightly holding onto the back of a chair. "What do you mean there's no cure?" He demanded, feeling desperation rising with every word.  
Monokuma chuckled in response, "Weeell, it's not that there isn't a cure, it just won't be given to you unless you kill anyone~ So get to it! Every method is allowed, strangling, stabbing, drowning, bludgeoning, burning, poisoning, anything goes!" Monokuma smiled devilishly. "Well, I don't want to catch the disease, so I'm heading off! See you punks later!" He offered as he left.

"Well, this is gonna be a breeze!" Nagito said cheerfully, internally screaming at himself.

"Shut up Nagito." Soda groaned.

"Um, I t-think we'd better get the- um, the sick to t-the h-hospital" Mikan suggested timidly. "That way I'll, um, be able to t-treat them properly."

Hajime nodded in agreement. 

"Yeah, and we need to make sure they don't get us sick too!" Hiyoko stated, looking at the sick people with poorly veiled disgust.

That's when Nagito collapsed in cold sweat, seconds later losing consciousness, grabbing the rooms attention.

"Komaeda!" Hajime exclaimed, rushing over to his side. Nagito's body was wracked with shivers, and his breathing was heavy and uneven. "Tsumiki, what's wrong with him?" Hajime asked, panic leaking into his voice.

"W-we need to get him to the hospital, he's burning up!" she exclaimed, fretting as she checked temperature and pulse.

She walked over to the other infected, taking Ibuki by the hand. She tried to grab Akane too, but the pulled away, crying. "D-don't touch me! I'm scared."   
Tsumiki and Sonia tried to calm her down, as Hajime slowly placed his hand on Nagito's arm.   
"Hey Komaeda, how bad is it? Can you stand?"

"I feel great, so go. Leave me alone Hinata." Nagito mumbled, barely coming to it as he was picked up.

Lying disease, so you actually mean the opposite, Hajime thought as he gently bent down to support Nagito, making the other lean on him. "Aah- H-Hinata-san, I'm n-not sure you should, um, t-touch the affected like T-that. You might get the, um, disease too!" Mikan wailed, but Hajime shut her up with a look. "He can't walk by himself." He said, offering no further explanation. The others looked at each other with grim expressions, and followed after the sickly, heading towards the Hospital.

"This whole area is most likely contaminated!" Sonia pointed out, perturbed. "We should quarantine everyone."

Meanwhile, Nagito's consciousness flickered between trying to assist Hajime in holding him up and making the floor his new residence.

"W-we don't know if the disease is- airborne or t-transfers by touch, or if it's some kind of p-poison or-" Mikan panicked. "Yeah, well whatever it is, Miss Sonia has the right idea," Kazuichi agreed., "If this disease really is the motive, then having everyone catch it is just what Monokuma wants."

"But who's going to look after the sick? They'll need food, water, and Komaeda looks really bad" Hajime argued, sending a concerned glance at Nagito, who was barely keeping his eyes open, being practically dragged forward by Hajime.

"Good thing we have the ultimate nurse!" Soda added, herding Ibuki.

"W-well, I'll do my very best! You can count on me!" Mikan said with newly gained confidence, immediately being shot down by Hiyoko.

"Hmph, well I'm staying as far away from the infected as I can. I don't want that disgusting ugly pig barf anywhere near me!"  
Mikan was in tears again, and while Sonia did her best to calm the her down, they arrived at the 4th Island hospital.  
"U-um, if this isn't too p-preposterous, I t-think I'll need someone's help to um, efficiently c-care for the p-patients."

"Hinata should stay!" Hiyoko declared. "He has already practically draped himself over his boyfriend, so he probably already has the disease!"

"We're not together." Hajime interjected, stopping in his tracks and picked up Nagito princess style, as dragging him was an ineffective means of transportation.

Hiyoko snorted. "Not together?" She sneered, looking at them dubiosly.   
Hajime paid her no mind. "It'll probably be good if one more person stays," he said instead, "Right Tsumiki?"   
She nodded affermatively. "Y-yes, um, if- if something w-were to go w-wrong, it'd be best to have one more person to, um, look over the other p-patients"

Fuyuhiko looked up. "Right, well I guess this can't be helped then. I'll stay behind too. My life is a spare anyway, so I'll do whatever I can to make sure it's useful to you guys."

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Hiyoko cheered, "Nobody cares if the murderer dies anyway! So he should stay with the sick people, isn't that right Kuzuryuu?"

Soda agreed reluctantly, Sonia not wanting to help either and so that was decided. Nagito woke up now that he wasn't walking, groggily clinging to Hajime.

"I d-don't like this? Where's Nekomaru?" Akane wailed, and Tsumiki tried to reassure her the best she could.   
"U-um, if it's n-not too much to ask, Kuzuryuu-san and H-Hinata-san, could you escort the p-patients to empty r-rooms?"  
Fuyuhiko nodded, and gestured to Ibuki to follow, "Oh! are we going somewhere? Lead the way!" She cheered.   
Hajime began walking too, whispering "You'll soon be able to lie down," to the newly awakened Nagito.  
They ended up putting Akane in the room furthest in, while Ibuki was next to her and Komaeda closest to the entrance. Tsumiki explained that she wanted Komaeda close to the outside in case his condition worsened and they needed to move him to a constant surveillance room, which was just across the hall from him.

"I'll be just fine, let me down." Nagito groaned, Ibuki compliantly heading to him to get him down from Hajime's arm,

"Ibuki no, go to your room." Fuyuhiko sighed, herding the girl towards her room.

"Hinata, let me go, this is disgusting and I'll be fine on my own," he said, squirming in his grip.

Hajime grunted with the effort of keeping Nagito in his arms. "Dammit Komaeda, be still. We're almost there" He said, pushing open the door to Nagito's room with his elbow. He entered and put Nagito in the bed by the window, whereupon the other immediately moved to the corner where he was the farthest corner from Hajime.

"Can you please leave? Your presence makes me want to throw up." Nagito asked sweetly, dripping in sweat.

Hajime knew Nagito didn't mean it, that it wasn't really *him* talking, but the Despair Disease, but the words still stung. Insisting to stay close to someone when they were practically begging him to leave them alone, no matter under which circumstance, made him feel like an asshole. "I'm going to get Tsumiki," Hajime muttered, heading for the exit. Maybe Nagito would react better to her.

"Good! And don't come back!" he called after him, wrapping the blanket around himself as he shivered in cold sweat.

Hajime swiftly returned with Tsumiki. "I-its, strange.." She mused "Komaeda-san seems to be s-suffering from much h-harsher symptoms than t-the others" They approached his room, and Hajime stayed by the door, doing his best not to startle Komaeda.  
"He doesn't want me near him" He explained ruefully to Tsumiki.

"I-I don't think that that's it Hinata-san." Tsumiki stuttered as Komaeda laid panting and wheezing in his bed from the fever.

"I know..." Hajime sighed. "I'm just afraid he'll get too stressed and hurt himself or something if he keeps yelling at me to go away. I thought having someone else here might calm him down some" Nagito lifted his head at Hajime's voice, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"M-maybe just being here could calm him down? So he doesn't have to lie? I'm sorry, please don't hurt me!" she whimpered.

Hajime felt suddenly relieved. He hadn't realized how worried he'd been that Mikan would throw him out. "Yeah, yeah that sounds good," He agreed, "U-um... He'll need to- um, to change into a h-hospital gown, and--um he'll need water regularly, but other than that I- I don't think we can d-do much more... I'm sorry, I've n-never seen anything l-like this before" Mikan stuttered. "Alright, thank you Tsumiki" Hajime said, eyes still glued to Nagito's shivering body in the bed.

"Leave." he whimpered, glaring at Hajime, wishing he'd just hold his hand. He knew it was too much to ask of him, to have someone as amazing and caring as Hajime to even think the thought to hold someone as vile as Nagitos hand when he was sick too.

"C-can I entrust him t-to you, Hinata-san?"

"Of course, you go tend to Akane now, Mikan" Hajime assured her. If Mikan was certain that his presence wouldn't harm Nagito, then he would trust in the Ultimate Nurse. He turned to Nagito, wondering if the other was strong enough to dress himself. He walked over to the folded hospital gown beside the bed and held it out to Nagito expectantly, since asking him if he needed help would only result in him getting the opposite for answer.

"Hey Hajime, before you leave, wanna get a strip show first? I'm offering." Nagito said, pulling off his shirt, already out of breath.

"I- uh What?" Hajime blushed furiously. He'd never thought he'd hear Nagito use the word "strip" and the concept was greatly disturbing. He breathed in, (remember that he's lying. He means the opposite) he told himself. Nagito looked at him curiously, as Hajime pieced together what he was trying to say. "Right, yeah." He said, as he turned his back

"Awe, you don't think I'm attractive enough?" he panted but got changed behind Hajime's back and crawled back in bed.  
"Pity, I definitely think so, oh well it's your loss."

Hajime looked around the room. There really wasn't much, only a couple chairs, the bed, and a small sink. Well, Tsumiki had told him to make sure Nagito stays hydrated. He walked over to it, taking a paper cup from the dispenser on the wall, and filled it with water. "Here you go" He said, as he placed it by Nagito's bedside.

"Thank you, but I didn't want this, Hinata-kun." Nagito smiled and took the cup and drank it with vigor. As he finished it he laid back again in the bed. "Leave now?"

"Yeah yeah" Hajime muttered, sitting down on the chair by the sink. "You should try to get some rest, Komaeda."

"Not tired." he said, curling up and burying his face in the pillow, leaving his hand outside of the covers, glancing up at him with glazed eyes.

"Of course you're not" Hajime agreed. He wondered if he could bring Nagito something to do, maybe a book from the library. He remembered Nagito liked reading ("Since there are very few accidents that can happen when reading, Hinata-kun. Oh except for paper cuts, of course.") He decided to talk to Tsumiki about that when she came back. As it was, he refilled Nagito's water, and sat down heavily, content to get some peace after the eventful morning.

Soon enough Nagito was fast asleep, breathing heavily, his clammy hands clenching the sheets as he slept feverish.

Hajime walked over to him, taking his temperature at regular intervals like Tsumiki had instructed. She'd also left him with a couple of pieces of cloth that he could use to dampen Nagito's fever if it got out of hand, so he dipped one in cold water and placed it on Nagito's forehead, stroking away a few pieces of white hair from his eyes. Hajime sighed. As time went by, Nagito seemed to only get worse.

Around dinnertime, Tsumiki came in with dinner for the two and anti-inflammatory medicine she'd had Fuyuhiko fetch from the drug store back on the second island. "H-how's he doing?" she asked, worried about her patient.

"He's been sleeping practically the entire day." Hajime explains, "He wakes up from time to time, but he's not been awake for more than an hour since we got here." He replaced the damp cloth on Nagito's forehead with a new one and frowned. "His fever is also getting worse" He noted dejectedly.

"We need to wake him up and get him to eat something and get him up so we can change sheets. He looks drenched." Mikan stuttered.

Hajime moved to help, but stopped as his stomach groaned, "Sorry, I haven't eaten since breakfast" He explained, blushing faintly. Mikan suggested he take Nagito out into the lobby to get some food while she cleans his room.

Nagito was woken up, woozy and completely out of it as they walked out and he was full after just a few bites and after that he sat swaying next to Hajime.

"You're not going to eat any more?" Hajime asked with concern, as he put the final spoonful in his mouth, having finished the meal in record time.

"No I want more, I'm hungry. Why'd you finish the food without me?" he asked accusatory, leaning on his shoulder.

Hajime was about to apologize, but caught himself in time. It was truly bizarre, having a conversation with someone who always said the opposite of what they meant. "You tired, Komaeda? How about we head back?" Hajime said, collecting the dirty dishes from in front of Nagito. His skin was alarmingly warm Hajime noted, and decided to ask if Mikan could do anything about it when they got back.

Soon Mikan came for them and helped lead the now delirious Nagito back to bed, somehow managing to get the boy to take some painkillers for the fever and got him back in the newly made bed.

Nagito spent the rest of the evening drifting in and out of fever dreams. His sweating was so severe, Hajime took up permanent residence next to his bead, constantly trying to keep him cool with damp cloths, and making sure he had cold water for whenever he drifted out of sleep. Despite his best efforts, however Nagito's condition saw no improvement, and Hajime grew more worried by the minute.

A bit before the Monokuma announcement Soda shower up and assembled them all in the lobby to show them what he'd done during the day.

"So, it's nothing too fancy, but it can be used as a means of communication between the music venue and here. I couldn't get it to reach to the motel."

"Hmph, and what manner of black magic did you utilize to create such an artifact?" Gundham boomed, curiosity shining through his gaze despite his attempts to mask it.

"A wrench and a screwdriver, along with some parts from a cellphone." he said proudly. "What do you think, Sonia-San?"

"It's brilliant! Great work Souda" Sonia exclaimed, and Kazuichi looked like he'd never been happier in his life. "Although.." she added tentatively "Perhaps some dark magic would benefit the product.."

"Hey, pig barf, why don't you just do your job and update us on the patients?" Hiyoko sneered, ignoring the triangle drama happening beside her.

"U-um" Mikan snapped to attention. "I-I'm sorry! Ah- Akane-san and Mioda-san are doing fine, they're afflicted with m-minor fevers, but t-thats it. Komaeda-san on the other hand," She quickly glanced at Hajime, "H-his fever is rising, b-but he's stable" she declared. 

Fuyuhiko, who had been watching quietly up until now, joined in. "Souda, is this a video camera? Does that mean we can record things on here?"

"Nope, it's a simple, slightly modified household surveillance camera, or two." he said and began explaining how it worked.

Hajime lost focus on Soudas explaination quickly, his thoughts wandering to Nagito again. His condition was only growing more severe, and Monokuma had said that he wouldn't get cured until a murder happened. But how long until then? What if Nagito's condition turned critical before then? What if he-   
Hajime shook his head to clear his thoughts. When he looked up, the others had just about started saying their goodbyes. Apparently they would stay in the motel, and keep in touch via the camera in the Music Venue. They decided to talk to eachother twice a day, after the Monokuma announcements, so that they wouldn't miss one another. They would send updates on the patients, and discuss possible leads for cures. Everyone agreed, and subsequently began to go their separate ways.

"H-hey Hajime, let's go back and check on Nagito.. I'm worried since is fever isn't coming down." Mikan said worried and headed towards the rooms.

Hajime agreed, and they went together with Fuyuhiko, who was in charge of the other patients. When they entered Nagito's room, his condition was unchanged. He was shivering, his breathing laboured, and eyes glaced over with feber. "Komaeda, I'm back" Hajime announced, on the off chance that Nagito happened to be conscious.

"Leave, it's too hot here." he wheezed, apparently being awake, too tired to wrap his blanket tighter around him.

Hajime walked over to his bed, "Tsumiki, he's ice cold" He said, alarmed. "Um Hinata-san, m-maybe if you get him another b-blanket, he could w-warm up some" she suggested, and Hajime snapped to attention immediately."I'll be right back" He said to Nagito. Hajime thought he'd seen some blankets in the conference room, so he headed for the staircase, intent on being back as quickly as possible.

When Hajime returned with another pillow, Nagito was silently crying because he felt so miserable, his fever state unbearable and aching all over.

Hajime rushed to his side as soon as he noticed, dropping the blanket on the bed beside Nagito. "Hey Komaeda, I'm here now. I brought you a blanket since you were cold," He said, trying to sound as comforting as possible. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but even if Nagito answered, the answer would be a lie, so it was pointless.

Nagito reached out a shaky, clammy hand, breath heavy as he squinted towards him as the harsh light from the hospital lamps made his headache worse.

Hajime took it, bewildered. The skin was sweaty, and ice cold to the touch. "Jesus Christ, Komaeda" he breathed. Every lucid second must be utter agony for him, and Hajime wanted nothing more than to ease his pain. "Komaeda, why don't you try to go back to sleep. I brought blankets, so you don't have to worry about being cold anymore, okay?"

Nagito pulled at his hand, wanting a hug, but being afraid to spout another lie that'd just push Hajime away. "Go away, Hinata." he whimpered. "Not tired, you're annoying."

Hajime flinched but didn't move. He needed to get used to everything Nagito saying meaning the opposite. Instead, he grasped Nagito's hand tightly. "Let me guess, you want me to get in with you?" He asked gently. "Nod once for yes and twice for no if you can't speak." 

Nagito gave a nod and a cough, flinching as a tear from his one eye rolled into the other.

Hajime smiled comfortingly, he hoped at least and used his free hand to undo his tie, before kicking off his shoes and swinging his legs onto the bed. The bed was hard, and honestly kind of uncomfortable, not to mention he could feel Nagito's breath on his neck, but he laid down nonetheless. He squeezed Nagito's hand, pulling it up to rest on his chest and placing his own on top. 

Nagito noticeably relaxed, and the sick boy, cuddled down for warmth, his strained breathing soon falling into a comfortable pace and he was soon asleep, but not before a little, wet puddle of tears had formed on Hajime's shoulder.

Hajime pulled both the blankets over them, ignoring the uncomfortable warmth that followed. He soon noticed Nagito's breathing slow, and he was happy to hear that the strained panting that usually accompanied Nagito's fever dreams was absent. Nagito must be constantly followed by nightmares, what with all the stuff he'd gone through as a child, and the fever hadn't exactly been helping. Those thoughts in mind and the feeling of Nagito's body pressed to his, soon lulled Hajime into a dreamless sleep.


	9. In which Hajime gets the #NoFilter Disease and Fuyuhiko gets employed

The next morning Nagito woke up panicked and sweaty, everything dark without being able to breathe, he flailed around as much as he could, finding a hand to clench ahold of.

The hand belonged to Hajime, who was jerked awake by Nagito's frantic flailing. "Hey- hey it's okay" He croaked, still dizzy from sleep. He slowly sat up and maneuvered to the edge of the bed, getting as far away from Nagito as possible. Hajime rubbed his eyes and groaned, as soon as he'd sat up he felt a headache oncoming, like a dull throb in the back of his head. 

Nagito took a few raspy breaths before calming down. "Good morning, Hinata. You really deserved that awful wake-up call, after sneaking in last night," he said with a hurt yet infatuated glance.

He looked straight at Hajime, serene despite his fever-flushed cheeks and bleary eyes. He honestly looked- "You look really cute!" Hajime blurted, then covered his mouth. What the hell had just happened? He felt a hazy sort of pressure over his brain, making it difficult to think straight. It was as though he couldn't separate his thoughts, from what he was saying. He tried to save the situation, "Oh, right. Good morning Komaeda, how are you feeling?"

"What? Yeah, you haven't noticed until now?" Nagito asked cockily. His fever was noticeably down, or at least his head was clearer. He could think straight again. "I feel great, my heads clear, fever's gone, the only thing missing right now is a cocktail. My bad luck really turned."  
He felt like a truck had run him over. Repeatedly. 

"Okay, Komaeda" Hajime agreed, despite seeing clearly on the other's face that he was far from okay. "You look horrible," he said, then immediately regretted the words. Really, what was wrong with him? And the strange, sluggish, feeling wouldn't leave him alone either.

"Really? Because I feel great," he said, laying down and pulled him in for a hug. "Come here, you're cold and I'm so hot I could burn up."  
Despite his words, Nagito was ice cold to the touch. Hajime returned the hug, hoping to warm him up some. He marveled at how nice it felt, despite everything, and maybe he'd said some of that out loud, the strange haze in his mind made it impossible to tell for sure.

About an hour later Tsumiki came in to check on Hinata and Komaeda, only to find the two asleep and cuddling. Part of her wanted to wake them up and scold Hinata for sleeping with a very sick patient, and part of her wanted to let them sleep and enjoy the rest they could get. She decided to go for the latter, checking their temperatures as softly as possible to not disturb them, with a frown noticing that Hinata too probably was catching it. Sadly that was to be expected.  
She quietly snuck out and sent Fuyuhiko to get some food for them at Rocketpunch market, along with some snacks and instant coffee. 

When Tsumiki and Fuyuhiko returned, they entered Nagito's room to deliver food and beverages for the sleeping pair. Fuyuhiko stalked over to the bed and shook Hajime awake. He sat up blearily, smiling as he saw the two and the food. "Oh wow, I mean I'd rather cuddle more, but thanks for bringing food guys!" He said, and Fuyuhiko snorted. 

"Yeah yeah, eat up you strange bastard," he said.  
Hajime turned around to wake Nagito, but try as he might, the other boy wouldn't wake up.  
"Mikan, I think something might be wrong with him," he said, panic resounding in his tone.  
Mikan walked up to the bed and placed her hand on Nagito's forehead. She quickly pulled it back, noting his cold skin, and placed it in front of his mouth instead. "T-t-this is very bad! He's barely b-breathing!" 

Hajime's heart nearly stopped. 

"H-hold on-" Mikan yelled and ran into the room on the opposite side of Nagito's. She returned, bringing with her a strange looking machine, and ushered Hajime and Fuyuhiko out of the room.

"Did I do that?" Hajime immediately turned to Fuyuhiko with a kinda glazed look. "I hope not, I don't know if I could live with myself if he died. Well, I probably wouldn't- I'd get executed at a class trial for killing the guy I think I like- but I'm not gay, I have nothing against gay people but-"  
He was shut up by Fuyuhiko pretty quickly. 

"Okay, I don't know what the fuck is up with you, but you need to chill," Fuyuhiko said. "Listen, I get what it's like to fear for a loved one's life" His gaze turned solemn and nostalgic for a moment, "but you can't let it consume you. You gotta trust that Komaeda will pull through." 

"But do I love him though?" He paused for a moment and just thought about the words. "Yes," he concluded, "I do. Or at least I think so. Yeah, I think I like Komaeda, holy fuck.." Hajime said, eyes wide from this new revelation. 

"Dude, you're telling me you didn't know until now?" Fuyuhiko said in disbelief. To him (And pretty much anyone else with eyes) This had been obvious, at least since after the second case. "How the fuck are you this oblivious, I mean you literally slept with the guy!"

"Oh yeah. Didn't think about that. He just looked so pitiful and I just wanted him to feel better." Hajime said solemnly. "I hope he's gonna be okay."

"Yeah." Fuyuhiko was quiet for a while. "Hajime, if you really love him, you'd better take good care of him, you understand?" His expression turned to bitter longing. "Don't repeat my mistakes. And tell him too, don't let him wonder just because you're afraid."

"I'll tell him after he gets better, or at least next time I see him and he's conscious. I'd hate it if he slipped away like Peko did for you." Hinata said, soon realizing what he said. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over me-"

Fuyuhiko smiled ruefully. "Yeah. Don't worry about it." They were suddenly interrupted by the door to Nagito's room opening.  
"U-um, I'm sorry to i-interrupt but- K-Komaeda-san is s-stable, for now." Mikan's timid voice announced. "Y-you may visit him."

"Oh thank god. Is he conscious? Because if he isn't that'd really suck because now I'm really pumped to tell him that I like him. Also, I'm hungry and you left us breakfast in there which I'm really grateful for, I'll have to thank you properly after this whole ordeal has blown over." Hinata rambled. His train of thought was surprisingly quick.

"U-um, he's resting right now" Mikan answered, "H-Hinata-san are you alright? C-can I please feel your forehead?"  
"Why? Oh you probably think I've caught it too, yeah that'd make sense," he said and bent down for her to reach. "Alright, let's get this over with, I wanna see Komaeda. Should I call him by his first name?" He asked Fuyuhiko. "No, it's probably too early for that."

"O-oh, Hinata-san" Mikan exclaimed as she felt his warm forehead. "It looks like you've fallen victim to the disease as well. This certainly explains your... questionable behavior. Tell me, how are you feeling right now?" 

"Like there's this pressure in my head, oh maybe a headache. I feel tired and pretty jittery. Turns out I'm gay now too. Never thought of that before." It had no end.

"Okay Hinata-san, I think you'll need to rest some. How about I take over caring for Komaeda-san?" Mikan suggested.  
"Can't I rest with him? It felt nice cuddling before." Hajime asked and Fuyuhiko snorted, about to die out of laughter.

Mikan looked over at Hajime. She had a feeling she wouldn't be able to deter him from staying with Nagito, even if she insisted. And, Hajime had been the first person in forever to actually smile at her. He was looking at Nagito so happily, even though they were in this situation, he really was amazing. Truthfully she didn't want to split them up.  
"Alright, I have some other things to attend to, but please, if I'm not being to forward, um, please could you promise me to go and get some proper sleep in the lounge after the Monokuma announcement? It's not good to push yourself when you're sick."

"Yeah, I promise. I won't be pushing myself though. I really like spending time with Komaeda, even though it's kinda sad that he always speaks of himself in such a negative manner. Honestly, I'm starting to have suspicions that when Byakuya was murdered Nagito actually planned to get himself killed." he said, sharing his concerns which he'd promised himself and possibly Nagito that he'd keep secret.

"Good" Tsumiki smiled. "Oh! And before I go, I should, um, explain some things" She gestured to Nagito, who was now wearing a transparent mask. The mask was hooked up to a machine that stood by his bed, giving off a low whirring sound. "This machine gives Komaeda-san oxygen-rich air since he's having trouble breathing. It takes air from outside and filters it. Hajime looked on as she gestured to a filter in the machine "Also if the machine detects any toxins, an alarm will sound so please be careful" She bowed.

"Alright, should be simple enough. Leave the mask on, Nagito needs to breathe to remain alive. I wonder why Nagito is this bad. Did he get it before anyone else and we're gonna get that sick too?" He asked Fuyuhiko before he stepped in.

Fuyuhiko shrugged. "Well, he's always looked sick to me, maybe his immune system is just shit or something." he offered. 

Mikan agreed "Yes, it's likely that the disease hit him harder because of something like that, but I'm not certain since I have no prior data to go off. I'm sorry for being so useless!"

"I'll have to ask him about it later. What if I don't like him, Fuyuhiko? What if I just pity him because of his past?" Hajime asked, anxiety beginning to stir.

"If you feel the way you said you do, then I don't doubt you," Fuyuhiko said decisively. "So stop doubting yourself, you bastard. Dammit, since when did I become a fucking couples counselor?" He muttered

"Pfft, Ultimate couples counselor." Hajime snickered and went in, sitting down next to Nagito. "Hey Nags, it looks like you got me sick too." 

"Anyway," Fuyuhiko continued, "I'm gonna go and check up on the others. Good luck with, well all this" He offered, leaving the room with Mikan in tow.

Hajime spent the next few minutes babbling away about what a bad idea it'd be to play poker now, about how he thought Nagito was really cute and his hair looked like cotton candy as well as how much he sweated when they first woke up on the island. After he'd talked himself dry he dozed off on the edge of Nagito's cot.

He didn't wake until a couple of hours later, that time by what sounded like a knock on the door. He groggily stood and walked outside the room. The knocking sounded like it came from the outside, so Hajime ignored his pounding head and pulled himself over to open. Outside was, Hiyoko?  
"Hey Hinata, what a coincidence to find you here!" She chimed, looking shiftily at the ground.

"Hey Hiyoko. Turns out you were kinda right." he told her. "Are you sure you should be here because I've caught the disease too?"

"What? Eww get away from me, I don't want to catch your weird disease!" She screeched. "Don't tell me Kuzuyuruu caught it too..." She muttered.

"Not as far as I know. Maybe you have to touch the sick to get it. But then Mikan would have it.." he speculated. "What do you think?"

"W-wait it transfers by touch? Stay away!" She backed up a couple of steps. "W-well anyway, this was a funny coincidence but I'm gonna head back now!" Hiyoko fiddled with the sleeve of her kimono, slowly backing away.

"Nono, tell me, I promise I won't touch you- ugh that sounded so wrong, I'm sorry, don't worry I didn't mean it that way. I'm apparently gay so you don't have to worry." He said, reaching for a blanket and wrapped himself around himself. 

"Apparently? Psch, that was obvious from a mile away" Hiyoko sneered. Seemingly having regained some of her confidence, she crossed her arms. "Well anyway, it's not like you care, but I was hoping to... Talk... To someone" She practically whispered the last words.

"I'm all ears." he said, shutting up for once.

"I'm not talking about you, you moron! I'm looking for Kuzuyuruu. He's supposed to be here, isn't he?"  
Hiyoko glared menacingly.  
"Anyway, I'll just keep looking, since you don't know."  
As she spoke, the Monokuma Announcement began to play over the speakers.  
"Dammit" Hiyoko cursed, "I wanted to get back before that, it's gonna be dark soon... But I gotta find Fuyuhiko." She thought for a while. "Hey Hinata, where do you sleep?"

"Oh, Tsumiki told me there was room in the Lounge for me. Since, you know, Nagito can't breathe. Now I'm curious. Wanna tell me too?" ha asked, stepping aside to show her where Nagito laid.

"I-it's nothing," Hiyoko muttered slowly. "It's just- I've been thinking lately, about something Big sis Mahiru said..." She shook her head, wiping her eyes. "That doesn't matter! I need to find Fuyuhiko."

"Fine, if you're going to be so secretive about it then fine. I'll just go talk to Nagito then." he said, not sure how to convince Hiyoko to spill.

"Anyway, other than that I was hoping to talk about something else," Hiyoko continued, "You see, I got here later than I expected, and it's really dark out now, so I'll need to borrow your sleeping place!" She crossed her arms expectantly. "It should be fine, you can stay at the Motel for the night, as long as you don't touch anyone they won't get infected, right?"

"I'll be sleeping in the lounge tonight though, Mikans orders. Most likely a good idea to listen to the ultimate nurse regarding hospital stuff." he shrugged. "I was supposed to take Nagito with me but I don't really know how to do that now that he's plugged into a wall.." He said, confounded.

"Fine, great then. Since the other rooms are occupied, I'll take that place and you can go back to the Motel. I'm far too young and dainty to go out in that Darkness, I mean what if a degenerate gets ahold of me? But nobody in the right mind would assault you, Hinata, so you'll be fine." Hiyoko sniggered." Finally, I can keep my promise to Big sis Mahiru!" She smiled widely.

"Alright, if you say so. I'll blame you if someone at the motel gets sick after this." he said and shrugged, going back to Nagito's bed. "Good night, Komaeda. I'll be staying at the motel tonight."

"Waaah thank you! You're the best, Big bro Hinata!" Hiyoko cheered, raising her arms over her head. "Well! I'm gonna keep looking for Kuzuyuruu then! Bye bye!"

"Why is it even so important to find Fuyuhiko?" he asked suspiciously. "For all I know you could've gotten all spiteful and hiding a knife or something in your kimono belt."

"What? You think little me is capable of something as horrible as murder? You're so mean Hinata!" Hiyoko cried, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Actually? Yeah, definitely. There's just something about how you enjoy torturing animals and bullying Mikan that unsettles me." he said honestly, with no discretion whatsoever. "So tell me why you wanna see Fuyuhiko or I'm not letting you go alone."

"What? Hinata you're blackmailing me?" Hiyoko sobbed. She piped down quickly, however, and began fiddling with the hem of her Kimono sleeve. "It's just like I said before- I've been thinking, about something Big sis Mahiru told me, before- you know" She quieted, looking at the ground. "She said that it wasn't right to take revenge or-or to hold grudges. That was what Big sis was gonna tell Kuzuyuruu, you know? But- I-" She wiped her eye with her sleeve. "I haven't exactly been doing that, have I?"

"No, not really." he agreed. "Honestly Fuyuhiko seems like he's been getting pretty upset about it too." he frowned.

"So that's why," Hiyoko said. "He's been trying not to hold grudges, but I've not accepted his apologies. So I'm going to do as Big sis Mahiru wanted, and I'm gonna... I'm gonna.. Apologize. And stop holding a grudge" She blushed furiously.  
"There. Now you know. And if you tell anyone else I'll forehead flick you until you die!"

"I don't think your bop will do any harm. It's like a grass type Pokémon attack against a fire type. But sure, I'll keep quiet about it." he smiled and held out his finger for a pinky promise.

Hiyoko accepted the promise, and then slapped his hand away. "Now leave me alone before I get sick!" She turned around. "Well, I'm going to keep looking for Kuzuyuruu. You should get some rest, Big bro Hinata, you look terrible." She snickered as she walked off.

"Thanks, you too!" he joked and turned to Nagito, giving his hand a squeeze. "Get better soon," he said quietly. "I don't know how I'd hold out here without your insanity to anchor me." he chuckled before fetching a blanket and pillow and heading out of the buiding.


	10. Let's stop the RP and solve a murder real quick (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick foreword here. The coming chapters will be laid out a bit differently, as they detail a case that I (LadgoldLOZ) created for attakaikukkii to solve.  
> Basically, this means that she'll be actually investigating, while I'll be providing all the clues and guiding her when she misses a deduction. This is probably gonna read kinda weirdly though, so that's why this was written.
> 
> On another note, attakaikukkii has some great comments on the investigation that we want to share with you guys, so we're going to try something new. Comments in brackets () will be our comments on events, only during the investigation and trial since it's a bit slow anyway.  
> If you guys hate it, let us know and we'll remove them, but for now this is how we're going to try to handle it.

Hajime fell asleep practically as soon as his head hit the pillows, the frigid air and comfortable bed of Hiyoko's Motel room being a welcome change to the warm and stuffy air of Nagito's room. He didn't get to enjoy the sleep for very long, however, as he was jolted awake by a loud noise what seemed like only moments after he'd fallen asleep. It sounded like some kind of alarm, and he quickly deduced it came from the Hospital. 

Hajime was extremely tired, the fever finally hitting his body but he dragged himself out nonetheless and set off towards the hospital, vaguely remembering Nagito's respirators alarm. He was quickly joined by Chiaki, Kazuichi, and Gundam, who had also woken up from the loud noise.

"What the hell is this bloody noise, some of us are trying to sleep. Right, Hin- Wait what? Hinata? What are you doing here?" 

"Hiyoko wanted to switch because wait I'm not supposed to tell you about it - reasons," he said, catching himself. "There's a risk the air could be contaminated," he said as they ran.

"Contaminated? Surely you cannot mean- No I thought we had more time! The doors of the undead cannot have been opened already! Not when I gave my left arm to ensure our safety!" Gundham exclaimed, both Kazuichi and Hajime tuning him out. 

"Nagito's respirator has an alarm, that could be it," Hajime said worriedly as they arrived at the hospital. 

They slammed open the door, the sound of the alarm was unbearably loud. Hajime and the others headed for Nagito's room but were stopped in their tracks when they saw a shadow standing on the staircase leading up to the second floor. They rushed forward, trying to see who it was.

As Hajime approached the staircase, he could see the features of the person standing atop them. That long hair, those horns, the hospital gown they could only belong to one person. "Mioda! What are you doing?" He yelled over the ear-shattering noise. 

Ibuki raised one hand, as if in greeting. 

Her face was barely illuminated, but Hajime could make out a smile on her lips. Her nose was running too, and her eyes were teary. "Hey, Mioda what's-" Hajime shouted, but cut himself off. In the middle of his sentence, Ibuki had started to fall forward. Totally motionless, as is she was a rag doll, her body fell down the metal stairs, hitting them on the way down. Pink blood began seeping from underneath the place where Ibuki's crumpled body lay. Overhead, a noise could be heard, "Ding Dong, Bing Bong~ A body has been discovered..."

"No- nononono- this can't be happening- Hajime felt the room begin to spin as he staggered over to Mioda, flipping her over onto her back, Soda close behind with a similar reaction only Soda shoved Hajime aside and leaned down and sucked the blood out of her mouth, initiating CPR.

While Hajime's head spun from the sight of blood and gore one thought managed to get through the fog of panic. Nagito. "Komaeda- I gotta check on Komaeda!" he got up, face apathetic as he arose before sprinting to Nagito's room.

Nagito woke up, feeling better than he had in ages, though in a thoroughly unpleasant situation. An alarm was blaring loudly, and it sounded like it came from close by. Still plagued by a headache, though all his other symptoms had mysteriously vanished, he hid his head under a pillow, trying to block out the invasive sounds. Suddenly, the door flew open, and a distraught Hajime stood in front of him. Nagito lifted his head. 

"Oh Hajime, what a pleasant surprise! I- I don't remember much of what's going on, truthfully, but you wouldn't happen to know how to shut off this blaring sound, would you?" He sat on the side of the bed, facing Hajime. 

"Nagito, you need to get out, we need to go- Mioda-" Hajime panted, running up to Nagito and enveloped him in a hug before scooping him up and evacuating the room.

"Woah- Hajime hey! What's going on?" Nagito yelled in surprise. They ran out into the hallway, where they ran into Mikan and Fuyuhiko.

"Dammit let her go Souda, didn't you hear the announcement! She's gone!" Fuyuhiko was saying, standing by Souda who was still trying to perform CPR on Ibuki.

Mikan rushed into Nagito's room. "H-hold on, I can turn off the alarm!" She yelled and ran up to the oxygen machine.

"We need to get out, didn't that mean that the air was contaminated!?" Hajime asked, letting Nagito down, but not letting go. 

"Um... the Oxygen Alarm is very highly advanced" Mikan explained. "It's very possible that the amounts of contamination are from something completely unrelated, that's why I told you to be very careful with it. In any case, none of us are suffering any side effects so I- um I believe the air is safe for now." 

"Well, everyone who was in this building is already here so we might as well leave, just to be safe," Fuyuhiko said. "What about Mioda?! She's not - she's not safe-" Hajime pointed out, trembling. 

Fuyuhiko looked at him grimly. "No, she isn't. And if I'm reading that correctly," he gestured to Nagito "That means the motive has been taken. One of us killed her." 

As he said this, Akane emerged into the hallway. "Eh- what's going on here? There was some sound, interrupting my sleep or somethin' wasn't there?" 

Hajime turned to Nagito, letting go of his hands even though he wanted nothing more than a hug. "Komaeda, I can't - I can't do another investigation, not of Ibuki-" he whispered.

Nagito looked at Hajime. He seemed so frail, so terrified, it was completely out of character for him. Hajime Hinata was supposed to be the happy guy who'd cooked with Nagito that one afternoon after the second trial. The easily embarrassed Hajime who'd gotten beet red after only seeing him half naked, yet still had no problem helping Nagito reach the bruises he couldn't treat himself. Hajime Hinata had no business looking this- despairing. It couldn't be helped. He'd have to help Hajime until he got his hope back.

"Hinata-kun, I need you to listen" He began, taking Hajime's face in his hands. "I need you to focus for me. I know it's tough, but it's the only way. You can find the hope to quench this despair, I know you can. And when you do, your own, and all the Ultimate's hope will shine even brighter than ever. Can you imagine that, Hinata-kun? How sweet it will be!" 

"Komaeda, I can't, I really can't take another murder.." 

He said quietly, hugging himself as he stared absent-mindedly at his collarbones. 

"Tsumiki, can you do an autopsy of Mioda, if Soda let her go sometime," he frowned, poking him with his foot.

"O-of course, I'll do my very best!" Tsumiki said, gently prying a crying Souda off Ibuki's body. 

Nagito spoke up again when Hajime returned his attention to him. 

"Hinata-kun, I'm sorry to say this, but you don't really have a choice. Trust me, if I could go back and save Ibuki, 

convince the killer that my life is more worthless, I would, but the reality is that we're here right now." 

It was true, he would do practically anything to make Hajime's life easier right now, the other looked worse than Nagito had ever seen him before. He slowly placed a hand on Hajime's shoulder, mentally scolding himself for touching someone so great, an Ultimate, when he himself was a lowly, hopeless, untalented piece of trash. 

Hajime wrapped his arms around him, stepping closer and buried his face in his neck and broke down crying over Ibuki. "And don't ever, EVER, say that you should've gone instead." he sniffled towards the end.

"If that's what Hinata-kun wants" 

Nagito agreed, holding the other tightly. Truth be told, what he last remembered was Hajime practically avoiding him after their talk in his cabin, and he wasn't entirely sure what had changed. Nevertheless, the ugly, selfish part of him felt incredibly happy that Hajime was using him to cry on, was trusting him enough to actually touch him. He'd even said he wanted Nagito not to die, which was more than he could have hoped for in his wildest dreams. But as usual, when Hajime was involved, he suppressed that part. 

"Alright Hajime, you're going to have to cry later. We need to investigate." Nagito reminded him gently, stroking the back of Hajime's head. 

Hajime took a few shaky breaths and calmed down. "Where's Hiyoko? She should be here.." He murmured after calming down, Soda still sniffling.

"Sajonji? Shouldn't she be sleeping in the Motel?" Mikan asked, confused.

Nagito didn't follow them at all, but he knew better than to interrupt the Ultimates. He could find the information he'd missed in his free time, without having to waste their valuable time. Kazuichi whipped his head up, surprised. "Right, wasn't she supposed to be here too?" 

Hajime swallowed, knowing they might not have much time.

"We need to find her - Soda, Gundam check downstairs, I'll look upstairs with Nagito," he said, not yet having let go of Nagito's hand. Could you blame him though? He'd just witnessed his friend die and Nagito's presence was comforting.

INVESTIGATION: START **Conference Room,** Lounge

The doors slid open, revealing an empty room with a tower of boxes standing in one corner. "Hey, Hiyoko!" Nagito shouted, but they got no response. Both boys searched the room, but they found no clues that indicated Hiyoko's whereabouts. Nagito saw Hajime's face fall and was quick to reassure him. "Don't worry Hinata-kun, I'm sure she's alright. We'll just have to keep looking."

"At least she's not here and dead." he assured himself and decided to head for the lounge next.

**Lounge**

When Nagito entered the Lounge the only thing he saw was Her. She was lying by the bed, body party leaning against its side so that it looked like she was sitting. She had her back turned to them, but her blond hair and orange Kimono were impossible to mistake. Nagito and Hajime immediately rushed to her side.

"Hiyoko?" Hajime called out to the blonde girl, reaching out a hand to cautiously lay on her back.

As soon as he touched her body, that dreaded sound played. "Ding Dong Bing Bong~ A body has been discovered!" Nagito paled. Hiyoko really was dead. Two people had been killed, but why? Why kill both?

"What-?" Hajime couldn't comprehend what just happened, retracting his hand from the lifeless girl. "Nonono, Hiyoko- no, nonono-" he whispered, backing from her.  
"This can't be real, this isn't real, it's not funny, wake me up-!"

"Hinata-kun! Hinata-kun you need to calm down," Nagito said, gently ushering Hajime out of the room so he wouldn't disturb the crime scene. They heard footsteps thundering up the stairs, and soon Souda, Gundham, Chiaki, Mikan, Akane, and Fuyuhiko joined them. "T-that wasn't another body discovery announcement, was it?" Souda stuttered

"Hiyoko... Hiyoko's in there." Hajime stuttered, hugging himself as Nagito backed him out of the room.

"We found the body of Saijonji" Nagito clarified. Souda looked at the Lounge in horror. "What the hell? What's up with this? Two murders!"  
Just as he spoke, a chilling laugh rang out into the corridor. "Upupupupu!" Monokuma appeared from inside the Lounge and sauntered out, looking incredibly smug. "Oh, my-my! It seems someone has been a bit naughty! I mean, not one but two bodies! Now, isn't that a puzzle?"

"What if there's a third?!" Hajime's stomach felt like it was doing cartwheels. At least there wasn't any blood- there isn't any blood? What do the Monokuma files say... "Do we get Monokuma files for these murders?" Hinata asked, recovering better from this shock than the first.

"Why thank you for asking, Hinata! See, I told you we've bonded, you even complete my sentences for me now! God, I'm such a lucky bear~" Monokuma moved one hand which he'd been holding behind his back and gave out a bunch of Monokuma files. "One for each body!" He cheered, handing two to every student. Once everyone was holding two files, he looked at the remaining two he held in his hand. "Hmm... Looks like you're not all here. Hey! Who dared to be absent during my very important lecture?" He waved the remaining files in the air.  
"Oh well, if someone didn't want to join I guess I have no other choice than to deliver the files in person. Okay, Byeonara then!"

"Shit! Is there another body?! Who's not here? Sonia! Where's Sonia?!" Soda asked, this time he began freaking out, the others attempting to calm him down while themselves worrying about the same thing. Was there another body to be found?

"Hmm," Nagito said, trying to keep calm. "If you guys would be so kind, as to listen to a theory, even if it comes from someone like me." He started, but as expected most of the students were too worked up to listen.  
"I don't believe Sonia is dead, otherwise why would Monokuma bother with Monokuma files for her, right?" He reasoned. 

Soda calmed down instantly. "I'm gonna go look for her," he said, glancing to see if Gundham was to join him in looking for her.  
"We should start looking for clues here." Hajime agreed, stilling his heart and worked up the courage to go investigate Hiyoko's body.

Gundham, Souda, Chiaki and Akane all left to look for Sonia, whilst Hajime, Fuyuhiko, Nagito, and Mikan stayed behind in the hospital.  
"If you'll- um, excuse me, I'll go back to performing my autopsy on Mioda-san" Mikan stuttered and headed down the stairs.

"Alright, let's hear it. Thank you for doing this, Tsumiki-san." Hajime said gratefully. He was thirsty and hoped to find a tap somewhere.

 

They decided to investigate the Lounge first. The room was dark, and mostly barren except for Hiyoko's body, which lay on the ground as the only splash of color in the gray environment.  
Hajime noted three possible places of interest, the table next to Hiyoko, and something on the wall behind her, as well as her body, of course.

INVESTIGATE: Bedside table, Ventilation shaft, **Hiyoko's body**

They crouched down next to Hiyoko's body. She was pale, her skin clammy. Her nose was running, and there seemed to be tears in her eyes as well.  
"I can't believe it, such a pointless waste. She had hope, even though she didn't always show it." Nagito said softly. 

Hajime decided to ignore Nagito's nutty comment this time and just see the good in him. "We're going to need to ask Tsumiki about an autopsy for this one too.." He said, closing her eyes. 

Nagito nodded. He picked up Hiyoko's Monokuma file, scanning through it slowly. "Hajime, look at this," he said, showing it.

 

**Monokuma File**

Victim: Hiyoko Saijonji  
Time of death: Approximately 10: PM

Cause of death was deemed to be an unknown poison that attacked the enzymatic activities in the victim’s body, causing an overproduction of the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine.  
The body shows no signs of outer injuries.

 

"Ouch, that must've been painful..." he winced. "I wonder why she was crying- but wait- didn't Hiyoko- yeah, Hiyoko was talking to me during yesterday's Monokuma announcement. When she asked to switch rooms with me." 

"You talked to Hiyoko?" Nagito said surprised. "That must have been right before she died then... "And you say you saw her where?" Inside, his stomach churned. Hajime had been close to the victim, right before she'd died? He might have become the third victim, had things gone differently.

"We talked, just outside your room." he nodded. "She was going to go apologize to Fuyuhiko. That reminds me, we're gonna have to check alibis. Yours is airtight because you were kinda dying." 

"Hmm, I suppose you're correct. Maybe we should ask Fuyuhiko if he saw Hiyoko last night since she was supposedly looking for him." Nagito suggested, moving away from Hiyoko. "At any rate, I doubt looking at the body will yield any more clues." 

"Actually, let's finish investigating this room first and we'll go back before the trial to see if we missed anything. I'll check the bedside table and you see if you find anywhere else suspicious." Hajime asked of Nagito. "That is, of course only if you've recovered from almost dying, but the despair disease seems to have just, vanished."

"Don't worry about me, Hinata-kun, I feel better than I have in a while" Nagito assured him. "And that isn't a lie either!" He amended, as he saw Hajime's dubious expression.  
Hajime walked over to the bedside table. It was by the bed where Hiyoko's body lay, about a meter or so away from it. There was a potted plant on there, though what interested Hajime was the half-empty cup of water standing on there. The cup was just like the one he'd used to hydrate Nagito, so he deduced it must have come from the Hospital, and come to think of it, there was a cup dispenser on the wall in the on-call room too.

(Half empty cup of water Added to Truth Bullets)

"Find anything?" He asked and got up from the floor after assessing the bedside table. 

"Hinata-kun, come and take a look a this!" Nagito called. He was standing by a wall, looking upwards. He pointed at a ventilation shaft that was just above where he was standing. Something white was easily visible between the holes of the grid.

(a: The fuk is that? Nagito taste it)

(l: Nagito don't)

"What the hell is that?" Hajime squinted up at it. "Let's find gloves or something because I don't think it's a good idea to touch something in a poison-induced murder..." he said and looked around. "Gloves and possibly masks."

Nagito shrugged off his jacket. "Here, I'll just use the outside of this," he said.  
"If it gets contaminated I can always get more clothes at the supermarket."

He used the jacket to shield his hands, as he stood on his toes and managed to unhinge the grid. He pulled down the white object, which looked like some kind of cloth.  
"Oh- It's fabric!" He exclaimed. "I wonder what it's doing here."

(White cloth added to truth bullets.)

"How did it get up there?" Hajime asked confounded. "Do you think it belonged to the killer?" 

"Hmm..." Nagito began. "I don't know either, but I have a feeling it's important, somehow." He looked slowly at the cloth in his hands. "Well we can show it to Mikan to be sure, but I doubt it's contaminated." 

"Good idea, let's make a note of that because in case it is contaminated we probably shouldn't be carrying it with us." He said. "Is that it for this room? Because if then we should go talk to Fuyuhiko."

Fuyuhiko had been standing guard outside the Lounge until Hajime and Nagito had finished investigating, but he turned around at the mention of his name. "What? You bastards done investigating yet? Did you find anything?" 

"A few things. There's a possibility that the vents could've played a role in this. Since the poison might well be airborne." Hajime said. "Maybe that's what Mioda died off too. May I have her Monokuma file?"

"The poison is airborne?" Nagito said, curious. "What makes you say that?" Fuyuhiko looked dubiously at Hajime as well. "It only said unknown in the Monokuma file, didn't t?"

(a: Let's have Hajime be an idiot and have tasted the water.)

(l: lol no pls. Don't do that. That would be bad)

(l: GOD THIS IS AWFUL. MY CASE IS IN SHAMBLES BC OF HAJIMEMES STUPIDITY)

(a: oops. But max two murders so Monokuma would have had to step in)

(l: true. but still, don't do that)

 

"What else would someone be doing in the air vents?" Hajime said thoughtfully.  
"Well okay, since the cause of death is poison, that water is another possibility," Hajime concluded, gesturing to a half-empty glass of water on the table by Hiyoko's body.  
I'll go taste it, a little bit can't do much harm." he said, shrugged. "Plus we'll be wiser afterwards."

(l: No whyyyy. It's a glass of liquid next to a VICTIM OF POISONING! Are you trying to kill off my character??)

"Hinata-kun Don't do that!" Nagito shouted.  
"There are plenty of other reasons why someone would want to block the air vents! Let's say, for example, the killer didn't want anyone to hear Hiyoko scream. Since the only windows in here are outward, if they blocked the air vents they would significantly lower the amount of noise that could escape the room." He spoke quickly, trying to dissuade Hajime who was holding the glass of water, looking at it dubiously.  
"And besides, " he continued. "If you want to test the water, let me drink it. I'd gladly sacrifice myself for the chance to catch the culprit. You- your hope is too valuable to die, Hinata-kun"

"Why don't you two nutcases just ask Mikan for help when it comes to the poison? She's the ultimate nurse, she should be able to deduce something like that!" Fuyuhiko exclaimed, steadily growing more and more tired of the guys' illogical trains of thought when it came to things like this. 

"Ah- I suppose you're right." Nagito chuckled. "Anyhow, Kuzuyuruu, we'd like to ask you some questions, actually."  
"Hm? What about?" Fuyuhiko asked curiously. "I suppose you're checking Alibis, huh? Very well then, ask away."

"Alright, two questions, first the alibi. Where were you yesterday during the murder?" Hajime asked, awaiting his reply.

Fuyuhiko shrugged. "Well, a little after I left you two alone, Mikan asked me to check on Akane. She'd been quiet for a while, which was strange because she was usually crying non-stop. When I entered her room, she was sleeping peacefully, but I was worried so I stayed there until the alarm went off. I guess all that crying really took a lot out of her because she didn't wake up once.  
If you doubt me you can ask Tsumiki, I'm sure she'll corroborate my story." 

(Fuyuhiko's account added to Truth Bullets.)

"So Hiyoko never talked to you yesterday?" Hajime asked, feeling a twinge of pity for the girl who'd been so motivated to apologize to Kuzuryuu.

"Hiyoko? No, why would she?" Fuyuhiko asked, confused. "She's been avoiding me like the plague ever since that trial, not that I blame her." He looked down solemnly. "I'm the reason Koizumi died, after all."

"She came to me yesterday and was really determined to apologize for treating you so coolly. She said she owed it to Mahiru." He told him solemnly. "I can just imagine how horrible she must've felt not getting to do that before she died. Let me apologize in her stead," he said, bowing. 

Fuyuhiko looked at him in surprise. "S-she really said that?" He looked away, but Hajime caught a glimpse of a small smile on his lips. "Wow, Koizumi must really have meant a lot to her. Thank you for telling me, Hinata." He looked over Hajime's shoulder, at Hiyoko's crumpled body in one corner of the room. "I hope she can see this. I forgive you too, Saijonji." He said and fell into a deep bow. 

(Fuyuhiko's account updated in court record)

(l: Fuck I meant among truth bullets. This isn't Ace Attorney.)

"So, I think that's all for this room? We should go investigate the rest and have Tsumiki do an autopsy on Hiyoko too." Hajime said. "And have her test the water too."

"Yeah" Nagito agreed. "Let's get downstairs then, Hinata-kun."  
They walked down the stairs, carefully skirting around Ibuki's body. Hajime noted three points of interest. The door adjacent from Ibuki'd room was slightly open, and there was a window in the hallway next to it too. Ibuki's body was lying by the end of the staircase, Mikan crouched above, slowly muttering to herself. When she saw them approaching, she stood up and greeted them.  
"Hello- Hinata-san and Komaeda-san. Are you finished investigating the second floor?"

"We think so. Hiyoko is dead too, we're going to need you to run a test on this water and do an autopsy on her too." Hajime said solemnly. "Any news on Mioda?" he asked, choking up.

"Oh- I don't have the equipment to do a thorough toxicology report, but I'll do my best." She said diligently.  
"Well... About Mioda-san, there's no doubt she- um died from blunt force trauma to the head. Souda-san informed me it was when she fell down this staircase? Is that correct?  
Her throat and chest also show signs of a toxin of some sort. There are wounds in her throat that confirm it was drunk, so whatever it is it had to be a liquid."

(Mikan Tsumiki's autopsy added to Truth Bullets)

"She died from falling down the stairs?" Hajime asked in disbelief. "Did she break her neck or-?" he asked, glancing over to Nagito. "It must've been the same poison as Hiyoko drank."

"Um actually, the killing blow was to her frontal lobe. I believe the Monokuma file holds more details about that, here I'll show you." Mikan said, picking up her copy and showing it to Hajime.

  **Monokuma File**

Victim: Ibuki Mioda  
Time of death: Approximately 10.30 PM

Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the frontal lobe. The body showed traces of effects from an unknown poison that hat attacked the enzymatic activities in the victim’s body, though the amounts were not lethal.  
No other injuries were detected.

 

"Okay, sounds fair. Let's begin hearing your alibi too, and then we'll go investigate?" he requested from Tsumiki.

"Well, we can eliminate some people at these times. We know that the people staying at the motel didn't kill Hiyoko, since we were talking in the hallway right outside the waiting room, and no one passed me while I left the building." Hajime began digging himself down in thought. 

Nagito nodded slowly. Mikan continued speaking. "Um anyway, as for my alibi... I was, um tending to Akane, before I told Fuyuhiko to take over for me, he should have told you about that. After that, I was researching the disease more, and I checked in on Nagito regularly, to make sure everything was alright with the two of you.

Nagito nodded, he could remember seeing Mikan in his room at one point, probably between fever dreams

"That should check out." Hajime nodded and set off to investigate one of the three interesting spots.  
While Hajime looked around, Nagito began investigating around the window facing the outside. "Hey Hinata-kun, there's something out here," He said, getting the other's attention. It looked like shards of a small glass bottle, though no label or any other way of identifying its content was visible.

"Is there any way we can find out what it is? Like tests or something? Shouldn't there be something in the back of the drugstore? I mean, we are high school students we should be able to do chemistry of some kind- right?" he asked, not knowing what it was annoying him quite a bit. "We could ask Monomi?"

"A-as I said, I'll do my very best Hinata-kun. There are different things I can try, but I'm a Nurse, not a toxicologist." Mikan took the glass of water from Hajime and examined it. "Hinata-kun!" Nagito yelled urgently.

"Yeah?"Hajime snapped around, "What's up, did you find something?" 

Nagito showed Hajime the broken bottle. "Isn't it strange?" He asked, "I mean if Hiyoko was poisoned and the poison was in here? Why was it thrown out here, and not in the lounge?" He considered the bottle. He had a feeling that whatever it was, it was important.

"Maybe the killer wanted to hide their tracks?" he suggested. "I don't know how much sense it makes, you're a way better detective than me. I'm really thankful we have you here for the investigation."

Nagito considered that. "Well, in that case, the killer had to have transported the poison upstairs somehow... Anyhow, I think we should keep this in mind" He concluded. "Maybe we'll find more evidence that can explain it."

"The water cup? But yeah, let's keep looking." Hajime nodded, just getting more and more impressed by Nagito's mind every investigation they did. "Remind me that it's useless to lie to you? You'll just sleuth it out in the end anyway."

"You shouldn't talk like that, Hinata-kun. A lowly piece of trash like me could never possibly lie to someone like you, that's insulting yourself!" Nagito said cheerfully.  
"You're the one deducing, I'm merely assisting you." 

"I wonder who's the real assistant here." Hinata chuckled because the best place for jokes is a murder crime scene. "Let's see over Mioda's body." He said somberly.


	11. Let's stop the RP and solve a murder real quick, part 2.

Nagito looked over at Mikan. They approached slowly, looking down at the body with sad expressions. Ibuki was lying on her back, her blue hospital gown covering most of her body. She head had been moved to its side, presumably so that Mikan could examine her throat, and Nagito took note of the snot running from her nose.  
"It's the same as Hiyoko," He said softly. 

Did Mioda really die from the fall? Hajime asked himself, reaching out to touch her head where the injury which killed her occurred, but quickly drew back his hand as he realized what he was doing. "Where do you think the bodies go after the class trial ends?"

Nagito shrugged. "Well, I assume Monokuma gets rid of them somehow. It's... probably not a very hopeful end, I must assume." He looked down at Mioda sadly. She'd really been a wonderful person, brimming with happiness and always willing to share it with others. He wondered with careful excitement what hope her death would bring, but his vigor was soured by the sight of the devastation on Hajime's face. He was really taking this hard.

"I wonder what Monokuma would do if we gave them a proper burial." Hajime speculated. "Oh well, we don't want to risk finding out, plus we need to solve this if the one responsible is to be punished and for us not to you know, die." 

Hajime is so kind, to think of someone else, even in the situation we're in, Nagito thought. He truly was a shining example of an Ultimate. Talented, modest, compassionate. "You truly are too kind, Hinata-kun," he said with admiration.

 

"Not really, I just wanna get out of this alive with all of my friends." And you.  
"So where to next?" he asked, getting up from the body.

"Well, I was wondering. Tsumiki, what's behind that door?" Nagito gestured to the door opposite Ibuki's room. That same door had been slightly ajar when they had gone down to investigate, but Tsumiki must have closed it at some point. "Aah- that's the door to the lab and the freezer," She explained.

"Let's check it out." Hajime said and pulled the handle of the door. "Oh yeah, Tsumiki, don't you house medicine and other chemicals in fridges so they don't spoil? Would you have to do that with a poison too?"

"Well, that would depend on the poisons... Some require to be frozen, some don't. Some poisons even become non-toxic when exposed to cold temperatures, since the molecules are too cold to react with the environment." She stuttered. "Though my specialty is medicine. I can show you the freezer if you'd like."

"Please do." Hajime said with a smile towards the sweet girl. "You are, after all the most knowledgeable in this area."

Mikan showed them into a large room, with what looked like lab equipment on one side and a desk for writing on one. There were quite a lot of open books and papers scattered around, though most were in neat piles. "So this is where you were researching, huh?" Nagito commented. "Amazing! To think that you can use all of this" He gestured to the equipment, "You truly are the Ultimate Nurse!"  
"Yeah- but most of these machines are completely useless," Mikan said, "for example, this one here is for researching the concentration of pigment in nails, and this here says it's a charging station for a robot." She pointed to a pair of machines.

"What would we need a robot-charging station for?" Hajime huffed in amusement as well as confusion. "At least it's not Monokuma-themed."

Mikan giggled. "Anyway, the freezer is through here," She said, gesturing to another door. "That's strange, it looks like the door isn't properly shut," She commented, looking at a blinking light by the door. "Hmm... I suppose there must be something wrong with the light. I've been in here practically all the time since lunch, and nobody has Opened it." She shrugged, and opened the door "So the light shines to show that the door isn't properly closed, huh?" Nagito mused as he peered inside. There were rows and rows of medicine stacked on the shelves inside, but nothing looked out of the ordinary.

(Freezer door alarm added to truth bullets)

"What are all these meds for? Isn't it creepy for an out of commission hospital to be stacked? Shouldn't the staff have brought it with them when they left? Or is it the same people behind stocking the shop that's behind all of this?" Hajime asked, now apparently getting creeped out by fridges and medicine in a hospital and not the weird montage of a bunch of doctor-Monokumas killing an alien patient.

"Well, it's true that a majority are in the pharmacy, but there's still a stock here for emergencies." Mikan explained. "Do you want to know what they are for?" She asked, eyes glittering with excitement. "This one is for colds, oh and this is for a sore throat. This one is for headaches and dizziness, oh and this one right here cures muscle pain. This one is actually really cool, you see it was actually invented by the Ultimate Pharmacist, or so it says on the bottle. It causes horrible side effects when mixed with sugar though. Oh and this-"

"Alright. Lead the way, Hinata-kun." Nagito smiled, walking after the other. They said hasty goodbyes to Mikan, who said she would perform an autopsy on Hiyoko next and continued toward Nagito's room. When they stepped inside, Hajime's gaze was immediately drawn to the oxygen machine that stood by Nagito's bed.

(Investigate: **Oxygen tank,** Talk to Nagito)

They approached the oxygen machine, inspecting it carefully. "Look, there must be the filter that picked up some kind of strange substance in the air," Nagito said, gesturing to a filter on the edge of the machine. "I wonder if it's related to the murder in any way, though I suppose it could simply be a consequence of my luck" He laughed self deprecatingly. "Wouldn't that be just perfect? Just minutes before I fully recover, I get to endure the horrible pains that loud noise caused, and for no good reason at all!"

"What do you mean?" he asked worriedly. "Are you okay, Komaeda?" he asked, skipping out on the honorific.

Nagito smiled. "No, I'm perfectly alright Hinata-kun. Fever and headaches just don't mix very well with loud noises, is all. For a while, I thought my head might explode! But you don't need to worry, I'm fine now, see?" He laughed and burrowed his hands in his jacket, giving off a carefree appearance.

"I hope so. If there's the slightest indication that something's wrong I want you to tell us. We don't want another dead classmate." Hajime said, sharing his concerns. And I don't want to see my first gay crush dead because I wasn't attentive enough to read him. 

"In any case, this alarm looks pretty advanced, doesn't it? And it looks like there's no way to trigger it manually either." Nagito said, returning to the investigation. "I think it's safe to say that it was triggered by something, though we're unsure what that is."

"Wait it's wasn't your respirator going off?" He asked, kinda relieved, then the embarrassment came over grabbing Nagito and running off stupidly like that. 

"Well, technically no." Nagito explained. "As I understand it, this machine filters air to make it easier to breathe and enhance the oxygen ratio. This filter is equipped with an alarm, which goes off if it notices any unusual particles in the air, in order to protect the patient. This doesn't necessarily mean poisons, for example, certain perfumes or smoke will also trigger the sensor. Anything unusual in the air. It's this alarm that went off. Though-" He laughed self deprecatingly, "I'm not sure if you should base your deductions on information about trash like me."

"Dude, no. Just, let me stop you right there." Hajime sighed. "Nagito, you're amazingly smart and clever and you lead us all on to find-" he cringed- "hope. Without you we'd all be stuck in despair, or probably dead after Byakuya died." he said, deciding to take this in Nagito-language, or so he hoped. 

"I-" he gave up. He was not about to confess with a dead body outside the room. "Nagito, you're not scum and I value having you around. Please help us reach for hope in the future too," he said, giving him a smile and laid his hand on his shoulder. 

Nagito stared at him for a while, gaze unreadable. Then he shrugged. "Anyway, Hinata-kun. Would you like to know when the alarm turned on? Seeing as I was there, I can tell you the time."

"Please do.I feel it would be quite helpful to deduce this whole thing." he hummed, letting go of his shoulder. 

"Well, the Monokuma announcement woke me up, but I was still pretty out of it by then. I remember the clock on the wall being about 10:35 or so when the alarm turned on, and Mikan rushed in to shut it off about 10 minutes later when the time was 10:45. That's all I know"

(Oxygen alarm timer added to truth bullets)

**Move to: Music venue**

"Did you just snap out of the fever by then or? I wonder why an alarm when off. We should consult with the others." He said only to stop himself. "Yeah, that's just gonna give the killer time to work on their story."

"Well, when I snapped out of it you picked me up and carried me!" Nagito giggled. "I must say, that was very valiant of you, Hinata-kun. You make a wonderful Prince Charming"

"Oh shut up." he grumbled flustered. "Where to next? Is there anything else you think we should investigate here?"

"Hmm... I think we've covered most of it. How about we check on Souda and that gang. Maybe they've found Sonia!" He suggested, smiling at Hajime's red face. He really was too cute for his own good.

"Good idea. Let's go?" he said and led the way out of the room and out the hospital. "We'd reassemble at the music venue, right?" he asked, shivering a little in the cool night breeze. 

 

Nagito followed him, looking around the Island as he did. The night air was chilly, he could feel the cold even in his heavy jacket. He couldn't even imagine what it was like for Hajime, in that thin shirt. "Hey Hinata-kun, are you cold? It's chilly out" He said, speeding up until they were walking side by side.

"A bit." he hummed. "My hands are the coldest though. Hey, can you hold something for me?" 

"Sure, of course. Anything" Nagito said immediately. He'd sacrifice his right arm if Hajime needed him to.

"Here," he said, blushing furiously as he held out his hand. God, he hoped the others were right about Nagito. 

Nagito looked at Hajime's hand, shocked. He couldn't possibly mean- could he?  
"Ah- Hinata-kun, are you really-"

"Yeah, I'm sure dammit!"  
Hajime answered, cutting him off.  
In that case.. Nagito, very slowly and very gently placed his hand in Hajime's, giving the other plenty of time to retract it, if he suddenly came to his senses. Hajime didn't remove his hand, he just grasped Nagito's.  
" Wow... Hinata-kun really is too kind" Nagito marveled quietly.

"You know for someone so intelligent and clever you sure have a hard time reading social situations." he frowned through his quite prominent blush. Screw it he was doing this now. 

"Hinata-kun, I told you before, you're a horrible liar. Though I admit you're right about one thing! Truth be told before I met you I don't remember the last time I had a conversation without it ending in someone yelling at me." He laughed again, bright and cheerful and wholly inappropriate considering what they were discussing.

"I-I'm sorry to hear Komaeda, if there's anything troubling you I want you to feel comfortable enough telling me. But it's completely your choice," he said, rubbing his thumb over Nagito's fingers. "I want to be there for you, okay?"

Nagito laughed again, but this time it seemed heavier. His voice almost cracked, and he looked away from Hajime, turning his gaze to the dark sea, looking at the moon's reflection in his water. He brought his free hand up to wipe his eyes and considered Hajime's words carefully. "I want to be there for you."  
He wanted to scream, to pull away from Hajime and hide away somewhere, waiting for his luck to kill him in retribution for all this good fortune. What would it be this time? Another illness possibly. Maybe he'd lose his material possessions and have to live on the streets until he starved. Or maybe it would just end him, perhaps with a meteorite, like the one who had taken his parents.  
Any one of them would be preferable to what he was fearing, what he'd constantly dreamt nightmares of during his fever dreams. 

Any one would be preferable to Hajime dying.

Hajime had promised to never leave him, and yet Nagito knew that was a promise he couldn't keep. Nobody was powerful enough to defy his luck, not even Hajime.

Still. He didn't scream, he didn't run away. He stayed right there by Hajime's side as if the feeling of Hajime's hand on his were an unyielding shackle, that anchored him to the other's side until the end of time. Because as much as Nagito feared, he also dared to hope.  
And that's what scared him most of all.

 

"Are you okay? Nagito?" Hajime asked cautiously, looking over to him. "What's on your mind right now? A hope's peak insignia ring for your thoughts?" Hajime wondered with a slight joking, yet genuine tone.

Nagito shrugged. "It... It doesn't matter right now." He wasn't ready to tell Hajime, not yet. He'd thought he was, back at the kitchen after the second trial, but that hadn't worked out. And besides, they had more pressing issues to worry about.  
He decided to tell Hajime once this ordeal was over though. He'd tell him everything, in a last desperate attempt to get Hajime to see the danger he was putting himself in. To see that he shouldn't spend time with such a piece of trash as himself, Nagito thought, but his heart wasn't in it.  
The selfishness he'd been trying so hard to suppress was rearing it's ugly head once again, and Nagito realized that he no longer wanted Hajime to leave him alone to save his hope. He wanted Hajime to leave because he was terrified of losing him. 

"Alright, take your time," he said softly, offering him a genuine smile and walked just a little bit closer.  
"I'll wait for you, so let's get whoever did this caught so that we can work towards hope together, eh?" he asked, wanting to cheer Nagito up from whatever probably depressing train of thought he was having right now.  
"I wonder what the music venue is called. I was never the best at English. Sonia found it awfully funny though."

Nagito smiled inward. Working together to find Hope with Hajime, that would be a dream come true.  
As they approached the music venue, they saw Akane standing outside the doors. "Hey! Hinata and Komaeda! The others are inside. We couldn't find Sonia anywhere, so we came back here to look again!" 

"Oh no, have you checked your eHandbooks?" Hajime asked, his heart beginning to race as he feared the worst. "Not another body, please," he whispered as he frantically fished out his handbook.

Suddenly, a shout from inside the Music venue caught everyone's attention.  
"Miss Sonia! Don't worry! I'll save you!" The voice sounded like it belonged to Kazuichi.  
"Ah, maybe they've found something," Nagito suggested. "Let's go and see if we can find them, Hinata-kun!"

Hajime immediately broke out into a run, terrified that there would be a third corpse meeting them as they went inside.

As they entered the building, they noticed Kazuichi, Gundham, and Chiaki all gathered in front of what looked like a maintenance door in the back of the building. Near where the students were gathered, Monokuma was standing, sighing to himself.  
"Geeze, you guys were so useless at finding her, I had to give you a clue. Do you know how awful a detective story becomes if the main villain has to give clues to the main characters? Honestly." 

Ignoring Monokuma, Nagito turned his attention to the students once again. Kazuichi was trying to pull the door open, but it looked like it was shut tightly. He pounded on it, screaming once again.  
"Miss Sonia! Say something if you're alright!"

"Sonia! Sonia Nevermind!" Hajime called through the door. "Soda we need to break it in, I can't deal with another dead classmate," Hajime said frantically. "Everyone, on three!"

"Right!" They all agreed, and everyone charged the door at the same time. The doors flew open, the force causing them to slam into the walls on the other side with a loud noise. "Miss Sonia! Where are you?" Souda practically screeched as he stumbled into the room. 

The room they'd entered was a large empty space. By one wall there was a fuse box, and next to it a metal cabinet. In one corner stood a metal trashcan. On the walls, numerous posters were plastered, all bearing the image of Monokuma somewhere on them.  
But what stood out the most was the huge water tank in the middle of the room. It stood about 2 meters tall, and Nagito guessed it had a diameter of about 1,5 meters. He couldn't see clearly, but it looked like the metal lid on the container had been slightly moved. They all looked around, but Sonia was nowhere to be found.

(Investigate: **Watertank,** Locker)

Nagito slowly walked around the water tank, noticing a metal ladder behind the tank. Using the steps, and holding onto the tank for support, he managed to get up to the top of the tank relatively quickly. His earlier assumption had been correct, the lid was off. He peered down into the darkness, and what he saw was

Dark water. Nothing else was visible. Whatever significance the tank held, Sonia was nowhere to be found.  
He shrugged and went back down the ladder.

"Anything in there?" Hajime asked anxiously, waiting for him. As Nagito proceeded to tell him that it was only filled with water he grew confused. "What the hell is a water tank doing here?" 

"Nothing" Nagito answered as he jumped down the final steps. As he did, a cry was heard from the other side of the room. "Miss Sonia! Thank goodness you're alright!" The voice belonged to Kazuichi, who was crouched down by the locker together with Gundham. "Fuhaha, it seems I have underestimated you, Dark Lady. Not even an attack from the vilest of demons could fell you, I am happy to see!"  
Nagito and Hajime walked closer, only to see Sonia, sitting with her knees pulled to her chest inside the cupboard. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she looked afraid, but also happy.

Sonia composed herself, and stood on shaky legs, climbing out of the locker. "I- I'm sorry to say I don't remember much. But, when the door suddenly started to rattle and bang, I was so frightened that I ran in here to hide". She bowed deeply. "I'm terribly sorry to have frightened you."

"Why were you here in the first place?" Hajime asked, not getting any of his internalized questions answered.

"Well, truth be told, I'm not entirely sure," Sonia answered. "I went over to the music venue to do the daily broadcast, but when I got here something happened- I'm not sure what, and everything suddenly went dark. After that, I woke up, only about 10 minutes ago or so, and when I heard the door rattling, I went to hide in there." She said, gesturing towards the locker. 

She started to walk forward, but her knees buckled underneath her, causing Gundham to surge forward and catch her. 

"Fuhaha, take it easy, Dark Lady," He said, as he helped Sonia stand upright. "You must not overwork yourself, particularly not after doing battle with such a fearsome enemy. Now you must regain your strength, the balance of the universe depends on it!" 

They are so dating. Hiyoko would've teased to the end of the world about it. Hajime smiled at the two. "But really, what's the water tank doing here?"

 

"Upupupu! Did someone call for me?" Monokuma's shrill voice echoed uncomfortably in the open room. "Argh, we totally forgot about him," Souda muttered.  
"You were asking about this water tank? Weeell... You see, this tank actually supplies the water for both the hospital and the motel. That's right! It supplies all of the water for this entire island!" Monokuma said cheerfully.

"That's mildly concerning, especially when two classmates have been poisoned," he said, concerned. "Is there a way to test the water, Monokuma?" he probably wouldn't get an answer but it was worth a shot.

"Weeell, when there's a will there's a way! That's what I always say!" Monokuma giggled. "Why don't you try drinking some? Or maybe bathing in it! That should give you a clear answer!" Nagito paled. "H-Hinata-kun, don't listen to him! I'm sure there are other things we can investigate to determine if the water was poisoned."

"If the water is poisoned what should we do? He said it supplied the whole island..." Hajime worried.

".........Well, we'll just have to go to a different island to drink. Or maybe use the bottled water from the Hospital lobby." Chiaki said distractedly. She was crouched down by the entrance door and hadn't even looked up when Monokuma entered. "Anyway- Nobody should drink any tap water." She concluded, suppressing a yawn.

(Investigate: area by door, broken lid to the water container, trashcan, **Talk to Kazuchi**

Sonia wobbled on her feet again. Gundam looked at her worriedly. "Come, Dark Lady. I will escort you to your sleeping quarters." He said and began to walk out of the room with Sonia in tow. 

"Hey! How come you get to-" Kazuichi began, but Sonia cut him off.  
"Souda, please investigate for me. You can tell me all that you found later. I'm counting on you!"  
She smiled brightly, and Souda's cheeks turned bright red. 

"Y-yes Miss Sonia!" He chirped, anger completely forgotten.  
"Alright, Hinata! Miss Sonia wants me to investigate, so feel free to ask me anything you want!" He declared, smiling widely. 

"It's amazing how quickly you recovered from that," he muttered. "Anyway, do you have an alibi- not that I suspect you but you know."

"Well, after I'd seen Miss Sonia off when she went to check on the camera, I and Gundam spent practically the entire evening together. His damn hamsters had run off, and we looked all over the damn island for them. Turned out they'd hidden in my hat, for some reason, but we didn't find them until just before the Monokuma announcement when we split up to head to bed. That's why nobody noticed Miss Sonia was missing, either." Kazuichi explained, cringing at the memories. "I'm sure Gundam would tell you the same thing, though he'd say it was a "battle of life and death" or some weird shit like that."

"Huh. I wonder how Gundham's hamsters escaped. They all seem so attached to him, I didn't think it was possible for them to leave unless on his command. And how come you didn't feel the hamsters in your hat?" Hajime asked with a testing grin. "Is there anything special you remember from that day? I was pretty out of it."

"You dumbass! I wasn't wearing it at the time." Kazuichi grumbled.  
"I'd taken it off to take a shower, but since the Motel didn't have running water, I had to go all the way to the 2nd island and-" Nagito snapped to attention. Something was strange about that.

"Souda-kun, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt but, did you say there was no running water in the Motel?"  
Souda looked at him as if he'd completely forgotten Nagito was even there. The gleam in his eyes betrayed both annoyance and apprehension, a look Nagito was very familiar with.  
"Yeah, I did. Why?"

 

"The shower on the second island doesn't work though.." Chiaki duly pointed out.  
"Well, now we at least know that the killer didn't have the intention to kill everyone on the island of they poisoned the water," Hajime concluded.

(Investigate: area by the door, **broken lid to water container** , trashcan, 

Nagito looked at the water tank once again. He'd looked at it before, but hadn't seen anything strange. Still, at that time he'd been looking for Sonia, so maybe he'd notice something new if he took a second look. He climbed up the ladder on the back of the tank again and looked at the lid to the container.  
"Hmm, it looks like this was forcefully pried open, doesn't it?" He said to himself. The lid showed scratches and marks as if someone had pried it open whilst standing on the same staircase he was.

"That's odd. Good thing we didn't taste the water." Hajime grinned. "It must be a pretty strong poison of a that low concentration can kill."

Nagito decided not to mention Hajime's *brilliant* idea of tasting water that was found next to a suspected poisoning victim. "Yeah, it must have been," He said, and climbed down.  
He looked around the room until his gaze landed on something thrown away in one corner. "  
Look at that,"  
He commented, walking over. Nagito picked up the object, which looked like some kind of crowbar.  
"I wonder if this was taken from the supermarket," He said. The crowbar was scratched and bent in one end.  
"In any case, this is most likely what was used to bend open the water tank."

(Broken lid and crowbar added to truth bullets.)

(Investigate: area by door, **trashcan,**

While Nagito investigated the water tank, Hajime walked toward the trashcan in one corner of the room. It was metal, and pretty sturdy for something found in a music venue of all places. He crouched down and peered inside.  
The inside was full of crumpled up Monokuma posters, the same ones that were plastered all over the walls of the water-tank-room, but among the paper, something jumped out at him.

Hajime reached inside the trash bin to pick up and identify the object.

The object in question turned out to be a small, empty glass bottle, reminiscent of the ones Tsumiki had shown them in the freezer. He turned the bottle around, inspecting the label. "Fatalium" It read. 

"This lovely poison is absolutely fatal when ingested. It attacks the enzymatic activities in the body, and is near undetectable by analysis to boot! Oh, but be careful! This poison can give it's victims quite the unique side effects! This includes raspy throats and teary eyes, so you've gotta be careful! Happy poisoning, /Monokuma."

"Hey guys, come look at what I found! Hajime called out, getting out of the trashcan.

Nagito walked over. "Hm? What's that you're holding, Hinata-kun?" He asked, looking at the other curiously.

"Probably the poison which was used to kill Hiyoko and Mioda," he said, handing over the bottle to Nagito.

Nagito scanned the label. "Yes, it certainly seems to be consistent with the Monokuma File. And you found this in the trashcan? That's very interesting. I'm sure it'll come in handy during the trial, Hinata-kun." 

"Why do I get the feeling you already figured this out?" Hajime asked with a little-amused scoff before he went to investigate the area in front of the door.

"What makes you say that?" Nagito laughed as he followed Hajime.  
As they approached the door, Chiaki looked up at them. "Oh hey Hinata-san, Komaeda-san." She said. "Do you want to investigate here too?"

"Yeah. Found anything interesting, Nanami?" Hajime asked, crouching down by her side.

"Hmm maybe" Chiaki agreed. She pointed at the floor in front of Hajime. On the ground lay a drumstick, which seemed like it had been snapped in two. "You remember how the door couldn't be opened, well maybe it was being blocked."

Is a drumstick really enough to lock a door? Hajime asked himself but waddled over, still crouching, to the drumstick.

"Well, it wasn't that difficult for us to break it down," Chiaki said. "But there's something else too. Look at this," she gestured to the doors. Upon closer inspection, Hajime noticed a strange see-through substance on the part of the doors that were touching when they were closed together. "Come to think of it, this double door is kind of fancy for only a door to a storage room" Nagito mused. 

"What do you mean? Do you think it was something else before?" he asked, picking up the drumstick.

Chiaki was quiet for a long time. "I'm not sure. I need to do some more investigating, I think." She said, standing up slowly. 

"Actually Hajime, we should probably also get going. I don't think there's anything more we can-"  
Nagito was cut off by the familiar sound of a school bell.  
"Upupupu!" Monokuma's laughter rang out throughout the large room. "I think that's enough time for investigating, time for the main event! Everyone assemble by Monokuma rock! It's class trial time!"


	12. In which an incredibly sick attakaikukkii tries to solve a murder while LadygoldLOZ desperately tries to save the shambles of her case.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So uh- Trial time!  
> LadygoldLOZ would like to clarify that she's nothing but a true-crime nerd and has very limited (read: nonexistent) knowledge of chemistry. In other words: If anything isn't accurate, just roll with it.  
> Thanks!
> 
> ALSO: Over 500 Hits? W h a t?  
> Who hired a robot to insta-click our shitty RP fic???  
> (Seriously though thanks so much. You guys are insane and we both love you)

The monokuma mountain shook, an escalator shooting out of its mouth, barely missing the kids with a few inches.  
"Every FUCKING time!"  
Soda exclaimed in shock but dutifully climbed on and son they found themselves in the elevator.

The elevator was as cold and uncomfortable as ever. The room was much too big for them, and the amount of space was disconcerting. The elevator shook as it slowly began its crawl deep down underneath the earth. Nagito looked around at his classmate's determined expressions. Almost half of them were gone by now, the large spaces their dead classmates had left behind making itself all the more clear as they continued their descent. So much wasted Hope.  
Nagito had never thought he'd make it this far though, it almost seemed like a waste seeing as his time was practically up already.  
But he'd made up his mind after the first trial. He'd use his life to best benefit Hope, no matter what that entailed.

As the elevator shook, Hajime sought himself closer to Nagito, wanting the comfort of holding his hand again. If they voted on the wrong person, it'd all be over. He should've confessed before.

"Hinata-kun? Are you alright?"  
Nagito asked, confused. Hajime was standing much closer than when they'd entered, their sides practically pressed against one another.

"I'm just scared. We're so few now and after this is going to be even less.." He murmured, the others keeping from looking back at the two out of respect.

"Hinata-kun," Nagito said softly. "I know it's hard, but in situations like this, you can't focus on the tragedy. You need to look forward, towards the hope that'll come from this despair! It doesn't matter that students have died, just look at yourselves! You've grown wonderfully, into true embodiments of Hope!"  
Nagito said, trying to sound comforting. He wanted nothing more than to help Hajime, to make his fear go away. This was the only way he knew how.

"Yeah." he chuckled solemnly. "Can you promise me one thing?" Hajime asked.

"Anything within my capabilities!" Nagito said immediately. "What is it, Hinata-kun?"

"Promise me we'll make it out of here?" he pled quietly as he reached for his hand for comfort.

Nagito swallowed. "Hinata-kun, I'm terribly sorry but I can't. I can't promise you." He smiled ruefully.  
"But I can promise to do my very best to make sure you live. Whatever it takes."  
Nagito answered decisively. Even if it means getting you away from me, his brain continued the sentence but Nagito blocked it out, grasping Hajime's hand tightly to emphasize his words.

"Just kiss already!" Fuyuhiko groaned behind them. "For all you know this could be your last chance so just do it!"

Nagito twirled around, a smile on his face.  
"Don't say that Kuzuyuruu, Hinata-kun would never stoop so low! That's insulting."  
Fuyuhiko looked at him strangely, so Nagito continued. "It's beneath any Ultimate- let alone Hinata-kun- to even consider doing something so shameful with a piece of trash like me, don't you think Hinata-kun?"

"Not really," he said bluntly. "You shouldn't assume others feelings Nagito. Especially not when you're so dead wrong." he smiled towards him. "The only one here seeing you as trash is yourself, Komaeda."

"H-Hinata-kun? I'm sorry but, I don't understand." Nagito dropped Hajime's hand, taking a few steps back. "You're mad at me, I don't understand why."

"No, Nagito, I'm not mad, I'm sorry if it seemed that way," he said clumsily, frantic to not lose this moment, the air growing tense in the elevator.  
"Komaeda-San," Chiaki spoke up softly. "I think what Hinata is trying to say is that he likes you."

Nagito bit his lip as he thought. Hajime liking him was a prospect he didn't even want to consider. He'd have to work harder to protect Hajime from now on. But this was not the time for that. They had a blackened to catch, after all.  
"I- Please drop the subject, Hinata-kun. We have more important things to worry about" Nagito said cooly, trying to regain composure.

"Yeah, you're right." he sighed, his stomach churning. Oh, how he wished he had some of that poison in him to escape the situation he put them in. "Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Hinata-kun!" Nagito said. As he did, the elevator ground to a halt and the doors slowly opened. They stepped out into a newly decorated trial room.  
"Hello everyone! Welcome to the heart-pounding class trial!" Monokuma cheered as they entered.

Hajime's heart felt heavy as he left the elevator. He shouldn't have done that, for all he knew this could be the last time they spoke outside of trial and he didn't want that.  
He didn't want to leave things off like this but he had no choice. The elevator had stopped and the class trial was about to begin.

They got to their places, Nagito cringing at the sight of the newly crossed over portraits of Hiyoko and Ibuki. As monokuma began to explain the rules of the class trial, everyone tuned him out as usual and looked around the room. Monokuma was situated on his throne outside the circle of podiums, Monomi hanging beside him, tied up as usual. 

"So, let's start this off then." Souda said. "I kinda wanna clarify something, are we positive that Ibuki and Saijonji were killed by the same guy?"

"I'd say so yes, why do you have anything contradicting that?"  
Hajime asked, collecting himself. He had to do this, for all of them. 

"Yeah but the causes of death are different, aren’t they? I mean, isn’t it possible that one person poisoned Hiyoko and someone completely different shoved Ibuki down the stairs or something?" Souda said, looking oddly triumphant. Maybe he was happy he'd come up with a theory Hajime hadn't considered.  
"Or... maybe Hiyoko shoved Ibuki, and poisoned herself right after!  
If the causes of death are different, how can we be certain the murderer is the same guy?"

Hajime shook his head. "No, according to the monokuma files Ibuki died almost half an hour after Hiyoko. She couldn't possibly have pushed her down the stairs."

 

"W-well okay fine. But that still doesn't prove that the murderer is the same!" Kazuichi insisted.  
"Maybe the first murderer left after they'd killed Hiyoko, and then another one killed off Ibuki, without even knowing about Hiyoko's death!"

"Why would they do that?" Hajime just looked at Soda. "Why are you so sure there might be two killers?"

"W-well don't attack me! I'm just saying it's a possibility, right?" Kazuichi exclaimed. 

"If there were two killers," Nagito began, looking at Monokuma, "what would happen? Would we be required to find both? Would both get to graduate?" 

Monokuma laughed. "Well... You see, there can only be a maximum of one blackened at a time soo... If two people died by different killers, then it's first come, first serve! That would mean that Ibuki's murder was pointless! Her death was a waste!"

"Did the killer this time know this?" Hajime asked monokuma

"Weeeell, why don't you ask them?" Monokuma answered airily. "It's not like it's my responsibility to keep you guys updated on rules, is it?"

"Hinata-kun, I don't think you're gonna get anywhere like this. But shouldn't you have evidence to disprove Souda?" Nagito said, trying to get the discussion back on track

(a: YOU EXPECT TO MUCH OF ME)

(l: Look through your evidence, and let me know if you want a hint)

"Unless the alleged killers were working together I highly doubt that. Both Saionji and Mioda were poisoned by the same substance." Hajime claimed.  
"Both of them were found in similar states and had runny noses and teary eyes. The poison bottle we found at the music venue stated the same symptoms. Mikan, you performed the autopsies, what did their throats look like?" 

"Um- actually. Both Mioda-san and Saionji-san's throats were sore and had wounds that indicated ingested poison. In addition, it's like Hinata-san said, the bodies both shared similarities, among them, being their runny noses and teary eyes. Both of these are fairly uncommon side-effects of poison." 

Souda looked surprised, "Really, man I guess I was wrong. Sorry man," he looked at Hajime. 

"I also believe Hinata-kun could show us exactly what was used to poison the victims," Nagito said.

Hajime pulled out the poison bottle he'd been keeping... somewhere... and read the label out loud. 

"Fatalium, This lovely poison is absolutely fatal when ingested. It attacks the enzymatic activities in the body, and is near undetectable by analysis to boot! Oh, but be careful! This poison can give it's victims quite the unique side effects! This includes raspy throats and teary eyes, so you've gotta be careful! Happy poisoning, from Monokuma.

We found a similar glass bottle at the hospital, didn't we? It was smashed to pieces though." 

"Well, I'm not entirely sure I understand, but those side effects seem to match the ones on the bodies, don't they?" Akane said. "Well, then it's decided! The Fatalium was the murder weapon!" She pumped her fist in the air.

"Hang on, Hinata-kun. Can you really be sure that the bottle we found at the hospital held Fatalium? Couldn't it just have been another medicine bottle?" Nagito interjected.  
"Um... He's right.." Mikan said timidly, "A lot of medicine bottles look similar, I don't think we can decide just based on that."

"That's true, but it is a possibility," Hajime concluded. "Probably not it though. It's pretty safe to say that Fatalium probably was the murder weapon since both victims bore the symptoms, but I don't want to say anything for certain until we've gotten a bit further. But let's go with that for now?"

"Sure" Nagito nodded.  
"...Now that we know they were both poisoned by the same person, I think it's time we considered how the poison was administered. " Chiaki said. 

"Hmm... What if they put it in the food!" Akane suggested, shining up.  
"You just want to talk about food..." Souda sighed.  
Akane winced, "Ouch, looks like you caught me."

"What about the water tank? It was obviously pried open and we found the empty poison bottle there." Hajime reminded them.

"The water tank? Well, I suppose if you poisoned the water that would mean Ibuki and Hiyoko could've both drunk it." Nagito said apprehensively.  
"Well in that case... The most suspicious person would be..that person." Chiaki said slowly. "Hajime, you know who I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Sonia? She was in there the whole time?" Hajime suggested.

"Ah! Could it be? Hinata-san, you suspect me?" Sonia said, shocked.  
"Nah, Hinata there's no way Sonia's the culprit! She's a true European princess, you know!" Kazuichi argued, making little sense as usual.

"What does that have to do with anything? Think about it, we found an empty poison bottle in the same room as we found her and the water tank, plus, the door was locked from the inside with that drumstick." Hajime doubtfully challenged Soda.

"Ah- I'm terribly sorry, but I am not the culprit. Please, you must believe me!" Sonia said desperately.  
"Hmm... I dunno, seems pretty conclusive to me." Akane muttered.  
"Wait! Hinata!" Souda cried, "Think about it, Miss Sonia would have had to pry open that heavy lid, wouldn't she! There's no way a princess like her would be strong enough! Not even Nekomaru could get that thing open without some kind of tool!"

"What about the crowbar?" he suggested, looking over to Nagito to confirm, hoping he brought it in his infinite pockets

Nagito nodded slowly. "Yes, it's certainly true that the crowbar was most likely used to pry open the lid." He said and picked up the crowbar that had been... somewhere.. holding it up for the other's to see.  
"See these markings?" He said. "They were most likely caused when the culprit pried open the lid. It doesn't really look like the culprit knew how to operate a crowbar efficiently." 

Souda started to panic, and Gundam butted into the conversation as well. "Such foolishness!" He roared but didn't put forth any arguments.  
"Well in that case... I'm terribly sorry but I must say I believe in Hinata-san's logic." Mikan said, looking at Sonia with fear.  
"But- I really didn't do it. I truly do not remember anything after I went to check the camera, honestly!"

"Who did you talk to during the broadcast?" Hajime interrogated. He didn't want to believe Sonia was the one either.

"Well, I didn't go there to talk, I just came to make sure it was still functioning. I mean no disrespect to Souda, but I'm afraid I'm not really used to trusting others to handle things. I simply wanted to assure myself that everything was in working order. Let's see- that must have been, around 3 in the afternoon?" Sonia said slowly. 

 

"Wait for a second, Hinata-kun. Is it really this easy?" Nagito asked, halting Hajime's interrogation.  
"Isn't there a piece of evidence that can't be explained if you assume Sonia is the culprit?"

"You're right. Sonia was stuck in here no? The killer wasn't though. That white cloth in the vents was present during Hiyokos death, but Sonia wasn't!" Hajime remembered.

"That's exactly right Hinata-kun!" Nagito said.  
"How could Sonia possibly have placed the cloth at the crime scene? And, furthermore, how would she know in which room the murder would occur? If we're going by the current theory, Sonia poisoned the water, and then just hoped someone would drink from it and die, right? How would she know to place the cloth in the Lounge in the first place?"

"Hang on a sec," Akane interrupted. "Didn't Hinata say earlier that Sonia was locked in by a drumstick? If she really isn't the killer, why the hell would she lock herself in the water container room?"

"Maybe she was scared?" Chiaki suggested.  
"I don't think she did.." Hajime said." First of all, a drumstick would most likely bounce off from door handles like than, it wouldn't snap. "I don't think the door was locked with the drumstick."

"Eeh?! It wasn't?" Kazuichi asked, shocked. "Well, it sure as hell wasn't open! We had to break down the door! How do you suggest it was locked, then?"

"Nanami found this translucent glob between the doors, no?" he stated, this time looking for Chiaki's confirmation.

"Mm," She agreed. "It was stuck between them, almost like-" She caught herself. "Ah! I see now. Hinata, please explain it to everyone."

"If I didn't know better I'd say the doors were glued together. What I don't get is why the killer would want Sonia in there with all of the evidence, like the crowbar." Hajime pointed out. She could've easily gotten out with the help of it."

"Hinata-kun, let's try flipping our way of thinking," Nagito suggested. "Think about it, in what scenario could the killer have benefited from Sonia being where she was?"

(a: one where sonia was a spycam?)

(l: omg)

(a: i did it  
i figured it out)

(l: Hinata-kun, I don't think that's quite right...)

"Probably one where she'd either be framed or become a witness," Hinata suggested. After the whole elevator deal and dealing with the loss of two classmates and a friend his mind wasn't as clear as needed.

"Right," Nagito said. "Now, if we keep this in mind, there's a part of our deductions that suddenly loses most of its credibility. If Sonia being in the water tank room was a fabricated clue, then that would significantly discredit all of the other clues we found there, right? We've already established that the white cloth doesn't fit with that narrative, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. On second thought, hiding an empty poison bottle like that in a trash can is a pretty stupid move, since you know people are going to investigate it. Are we even sure about Fatalium being the murder weapon?" Hajime asked Nagito, worried they'd be back to Square one.

"What? So are we saying that the murder weapon wasn't Fatalium? Was it even poison, then?!" Akane shouted in surprise. 

"N-no there's no doubt about it. According to my autopsy, both victims had ingested poison before their deaths" Mikan explained. "But it's impossible to say for certain if this poison was Fatalium or not since we don't have the technology to do a toxicology report right now." 

Nagito remained silent, barely even registering what the others were saying. He'd realized something and, if we were right, this blackened needed to be punished at all costs.  
"Hmm... Well even if we can't know for certain, there's certainly another possibility, wouldn't you say Hinata?" Chiaki said, continuing the debate.

"Well, they could've been strangled or choked? You cry when you choke, don't you? We at least know Saionji didn't die from any blunt force trauma, that would've been visible on her body- so I'd say asphyxiated or poisoned. And according to the monokuma files Saionji was poisoned. Mioda didn't die from poisoning. She was poisoned but didn't consume a high enough dosage." Hajime reviewed. 

"Wait, what? Didn't we agree that the victims had to have been poisoned?" Akane said, confused.  
Chiaki merely smiled. "Why don't you try again, Hinata. I'm sure you have some evidence that could show another possible place the poison had come from:"

"There was this other bottle we found, completely shattered outside the window, with all labels and means of identification removed. And Saionji had a half-empty cup by her side when she died."  
"And yes, both victims were poisoned but Mioda, according to the monokuma files hadn't consumed a dosage high enough to be lethal. Her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the frontal lobe." 

"That's right," Chiaki said. "Let's try looking at it like this. The culprit set up the fake crime scene beforehand, kidnapping Sonia and breaking open the water tank. After that they returned to their regular life, only to kill both victims that evening, knowing that we'd assume Sonia was the culprit once they did. This is what happened......I think."

As she spoke, Nagito came back to reality. He'd thoroughly thought everything through, and there was no doubt in his mind. This blackened was unforgivable.  
"Hold on a moment, Chiaki," he said. "Are we certain that's all the deceit that the culprit set up for us? If we've deduced that the culprit set up the scene at the container room, isn't there another deduction that comes into question?"

(l: Ok I'm turning this into a multiple choice, bc its obscure as hell  
What else did the killer try to falsify?  
-The murder weapon  
-The administration of the poison  
-The time of the crime)

"The administration of the poison. They made us believe it was distributed through contaminated water, but that wouldn't have worked! It the poison was that lethal how come Saionji died but not Mioda, plus the water supply was shut off!" Adrenaline coursed through Hajime's body. "The cup on the nightstand next to Hiyoko was probably filled with poison!"

"The cup next to her, you say? But how exactly is that deceiving us? Wasn't that what we'd deduced from the very beginning, that Sonia poisoned the water and Hiyoko drank a glass from the tap water?" Nagito said, somewhat confused.  
"No, I think there's a bigger lie here somewhere."

"I think, that the culprit was lying to us about a very crucial fact. Let's look at it like this:" Nagito said.  
"No matter how we twist and turn our logic, all of the clues won't fit. This is because we're working from a wrongful assumption. One piece of evidence is fake."  
He looked at his classmates, each in turn. His gaze softened as it landed on Hajime, who was looking right at him with the most adorable confused look on his face. This blackened wouldn't get away with this. Nagito had to keep his promise, whatever it took. 

"I tried disregarding one piece of evidence, foiling the killer's last deception. Tell me, when did we conclude that the poison had to have been drunk?" 

"So- inhaled or eaten? Or applied as a salve?" Hajime asked confused. "Because in both of Those cases-"

"Now that we've ruled out all of the fake pieces of evidence, what remains becomes that much more credible. This would have been a perfect crime, if not for something that the killer couldn't have foreseen."

"Ah!" Chiaki exclaimed. "I think I get it now, Komaeda. You're talking about the oxygen alarm, aren't you?"

"If we go by that, and assume that the poison was in fact not liquid, but airborne, doesn't that clear up all the remaining evidence?" Nagito said. "Suddenly, the reason why the alarm went off is clear. The reason why Ibuki had lower levels of poison in her system than Hiyoko was because she spent less time inhaling the poisoned air."

"I-" I was right from the start! "Then, we just need to pinpoint when the murder took place and how long each of them was exposed. Mikan?" Hajime turned to the nurse, giving her a comforting smile to hopefully coax some help out of her.

Nagito paled. He quickly interjected. "Hinata-kun, try to remember something. What was it that made us believe the poison was ingested in the first place?"

"The water cup by Saionji's bedstand? Anyone at the hospital could've placed it there, which eliminates those at the motel and Sonia. So it'd be between Fuyuhiko and Mikan, Fuyuhiko allegedly tended to Akane and Mikan allegedly took care of you, Nagito. " Hajime proclaimed.  
"So Akane, was Fuyuhiko with you the whole time- Mikan, didn't you come from outside of Nagito's room?"

(l: There should be something else. Look through the evidence again, pls)

(a: the White cloth?)

(l: WHAT? I don't understand, why does that say ingested poison?)

(a: OH BECAUSE MIKAN IS LYING)

(l: YESSSS FINALLY!! IVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THIS FOR SO LONG)

(a: IM SORRY FOR BEING STUPID ;-;)

(l: Haaahaha Its fine  
At least you're in character)

"Wait a minute- Mikan? Why would you lie about the autopsy?" Hajime asked. He never thought the nurse would have the gall- unless she of course too got sick...  
Everything suddenly became clear as day.

"I- What? Hinata-san, what do you mean? I didn't- I didn't lie!" Mikan cried, looking at Hajime fearfully

"You did though! You told us that the poison was ingested-" he accused her.

"W-w-well I just made a mistake! Yeah, that's right! It wasn't a lie, It was just a minor mistake. I'm sorry, I'm sososo sorry please don't hate me Hinata-san!" 

(a: well now we know it would've been safe to drink from Saionji's cup.)

(l: Yeah, that was the thing. I didn't want you to do it bc I was hinging a pretty big part of the case on Hajime assuming it was poisoned)

(a: glug glug binches)

(l: Imagine Mikan being like, fuhahaha they're totally gonna think the water was poisoned lololol!  
And then Hajime is like, SHOTS!  
Plan foiled. Just like that)

(a: pfft)

"Then who do you Think did it, Tsumiki?" Hajime asked, not wanting to believe that the sweet, neurotic, girl was a coldblooded killer.

"I-I-I I don't know!" Mikan shouted, uncharacteristically angry.  
"You're all ganging up on me, just like usual! It's all my fault, everything, I should just stop existing already, that's what you all think!" She shouted.  
"What did I ever do? Why don't I deserve to exist? Forgive me for existing!"  
Mikan's entire posture shifted as if someone had flipped a switch. Her eyes grew glazed and hazy, and her voice was dripping with malice.  
Nagito recognized that awful- filthy look in her eyes.  
Despair.

"If you won't forgive me, then how? How did I do it? How did I bring the poison gas into the Lounge? Did I walk with it? Did I hold it? Did I let it spread throughout the entire hospital first?! TELL ME OR FORGIVE ME!" She shouted shrilly, the sound sending shivers up Nagito's spine.

"The Fridge. Some chemicals don't react in certain temperatures, it'd take time for the poison to start working as it warmed up when you transported it to the room Saionji was in." Hajime accused her.

"I-I WHY WON'T YOU FORGIVE ME?" She screeched. "Anyone could have done that! Yeah- that's right, A bunch of people had access to the freezer! All that's just circumstantial! Yeah, I COULD have done that, but where's your proof?? There's nothing on the crime scene that proves the poison was airborne! So FORGIVE ME ALREADY!!!"

"Why was the ventilation system blocked then?" Hajime challenged.

"Th-Th-That's...Aargh!!" Mikan trembled with rage, her gaze becoming unfocused again. Suddenly, as if a tide had passed, she became completely calm again.  
"You still can't prove it was me. You can prattle on and on and on about your circumstantial evidence, but you can't say it was me, can you?"

Nagito looked straight at Mikan, his gaze and expression uncharacteristically intense. This was it, he was so close, so close to punishing this horrible person for what she'd tried to do.  
"Tsumiki, tell me, why did the killer choose the Lounge? I mean, it would have been empty, wouldn't it? Fuyuhiko was looking after Akane, all the patients had their own rooms, and Hajime was with me. Nobody would have been in the lounge."

Mikan paled. "Hmm? Hmmmm? The Lounge? I don't know, why does it matter?"

"Then let me tell you why," Nagito said simply.  
"Your goal wasn't to kill Hiyoko or Ibuki. Your goal was someone completely different. Someone who you told to go to the Lounge in the first place!"  
He practically shouted the last words, feeling anger and fear course through him. Nagito's head felt woozy and his heart pounded painfully against his chest, a cruel reminder of his poor health, but he wouldn't let that deter him. 

 

"Why? you say? Because I remember. I remember it all. I remember exactly who you are, Hinata Hajime! And most importantly, I remember my beloved. You see, my beloved was the only person in the world who cared about me. They loved me, and they forgave me for existing. I'd sacrifice anything for my beloved. And-"  
Mikan took a deep breath and looked like she steeled herself for something.  
Then suddenly, before anyone could react, she'd broken into a sprint in the middle of the courtroom. She ran past the podium, straight toward Hajime. 

"YOU GOT IN THE WAY OF MY BELOVED!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs, hurling herself on top of Hajime. She wrapped her hands tightly around his neck, ignoring the frightened screams of their classmates around them

Hajime clawed at her hands, heart beginning to race as he couldn't get a good grip while she squeezed his airpipes with his fingers. Hajime began hyperventilating, his whole body beginning to shake as the urgency in his actions grew.

"Hinata-kun!" Nagito screamed in terror, as he and the other classmates quickly rushed toward Hajime. Akane screamed a battle cry as she threw herself at Mikan and wrestled her off Hajime, while Souda and Gundham helped her hold the thrashing girl down.  
"Hinata-kun, are you alright?!" Nagito gasped as he fell to the ground next to the other, shaking from adrenaline and fear.

Hajime rubbed his throat where Tsumiki had squeezed just seconds earlier, still shivering from panic, his hyperventilating only growing stronger as he curled up on himself, gasping for air.

"Hinata-kun, please calm down," Nagito said frantically, desperately trying to get Hajime to focus.  
"It's alright, she's gone now, you don't need to worry,"  
He soothed, doing his best to calm him down. Nagito was vaguely aware of Monokuma talking in the background, probably something in preparation for the excecution, but Nagito couldn't care less. All that mattered was Hajime.

Hajime clawed at his neck, the phantom feeling of having the once sweet girl's fingers squeezing his neck violently. "can't breathe-"  
The combination of knowing he'd been about to meet the same end as Hiyoko did and then minutes later have her murderer choke him with the intent to kill again terrified him.

"Hinata-kun please stop, you're alright now, Tsumiki can't hurt you anymore!" Nagito insisted. He brought his own hand up to try to ease Hajime's away from his neck. "You're alright," he soothed again.

Hajime looked up at Nagito like a terrified puppy seeking comfort from its mom, still hyperventilating and sweating profusely, trying to catch his breath to what he could make out of Nagito's. His heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest through his mouth, tears prickling his eyes.

"Shhhh... Hinata-kun, listen to me. You're alright. Tsumiki can't hurt you."  
Nagito repeated the words over and over again in a mantra, trying to sound as calming as possible to convince Hajime he was safe. He slowly grabbed Hajime's hands, gently guiding them away from his neck and holding them between his own, all the while assuring him that he was safe, everything was alright now.

A while later Hajime calmed down, still shaking a little from the shock of the panic attack. As he collected himself and stood up to vote. The vote came out unanimous and Mikan was to be executed.

 

Even as Hajime recovered, pulling himself together and even managing a shaky smile in response when Nagito asked if he was okay, Nagito knew this couldn't go on.  
Today had been his fault, there could be no other explanation. Hajime had almost died- twice. That could only mean one thing. The bad luck he'd been accumulating was finally paying off, and Hajime had been caught in the crossfire. Hajime Hinata, the only person in the world Nagito cared about, had almost died twice because of him.

"I can't watch," Hajime whispered to Nagito, nauseous over the development of the trial as Mikan was being dragged off.

"We have to" was Nagito's only reply. Leaving before or during an execution was strictly prohibited, that much had been made clear by Monokuma. Still, Nagito stepped in front of Hajime, trying to shield him the best he could.  
"Focus on me instead," He said soothingly.

"Thank you," he whispered, ever so grateful to have Nagito by his side.  
"I don't know how I'd do this without you. I'd probably have become the first killer."

Nagito chuckled. "You don't need me, Hinata-kun. Your hope comes from you, and only you."  
He truly didn't understand what Hajime meant when he said things like that. Things like Nagito "helped" him, or that Nagito "Meant a lot to him". To him, helping Hajime reach his hope and move forward was clearly everything he should do. He was, after all, a stepping stone for hope.

"Nagito, I'm sorry for the elevator before, I shouldn't have done that to make you uncomfortable. If you so wish I'll keep my distance from you until it blows over, but please don't let this ruin our friendship." he murmured, and so the execution began.

 

"Hinata-kun..." Nagito said slowly.  
He didn't know what else to say.  
His mind was battling his heart, on one end he desperately wanted to tell Hajime to take hold of his hand again and never let it go but-but he couldn't. He couldn't because of his luck.  
"If it's what you wish, I'd love it if you let me spend time with you, as whatever you want. I'd be anything you wanted if it would please Hinata-kun" He said, falling back on the adoring tone he usually took with Ultimates. This was familiar. Familiar was good.

"Listen, I don't want to do anything with you that you aren't comfortable with." he murmured, his eyes resting on the white fluff of Nagito's back head. It looked soft and comforting to bury your face in.

 

"What I think doesn't matter," Nagito argued, but it was a weak argument and he knew it. Suddenly, he just felt so incredibly tired, like he just wanted to hide under the covers and disappear. But he steeled himself. He had to do this, to protect Hajime.  
"Hinata-kun, can we talk, like after this?"

"Sure, anything. As long as it doesn't involve murder." Hajime said, trying to ignore the sound of a rocket and keep focus on Nagito's hair.

Nagito nodded, uncharacteristically quiet. They were silent until the last tones of Tsumiki's rocket disappeared, and Nagito thanked the gods the execution hadn't been bloody. He didn't know if Hajime would have handled something that bad. 

"Can't believe another one is gone..." Hajime murmured as they all headed back to the elevator that would take them outside.

 

Sonia wiped her tearstained cheeks and nodded. "It's truly a tragedy. We must make certain this doesn't happen again." 

The other's voiced their agreement, yet nobody truly believed in the words, not anymore. They'd said those very same words three times prior, but they'd still ended up in this very courtroom, forced to sentence one of their classmates to death. 

This crime had been terrible, it had been committed in the name of despair instead of hope, and two lives had been wasted in its wake. And yet, Nagito couldn't decieve himself any longer.  
The burning anger he felt whenever he thought about Mikan wasn't from some lofty ideals. Mikan had endangered Hajime, that was all it took to get him this mad. It frightened him more than he could put into words.


	13. In which Nagito Komaeda gets a much needed hug (And the monokuma-plushies get roasted)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo...Two chapters in two days, huh?  
> Well, we were crying about the 500 hits yesterday and we're now at 600? Guys. What.
> 
> This is a bit of a shorter chapter, and probably the only update you guys will get in at least a week. Mainly because of school and personal stuff. Suffice it to say neither author will have enough free time to post this coming week.   
> So yeh! Enjoy this Komahina until we return.

When they all got out of the claustrophobic elevator, Hajime and Nagito stayed behind, promising the others that they would all reassemble for breakfast in the restaurant the next day.   
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Hajime asked when there was enough space between them all.

"I need to explain something. About my luck." Nagito said bluntly, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.

"Go ahead, I'm all ears," Hajime said, sitting down and looked up at Nagito attentively.

Nagito took a deep breath, steeling himself for the inevitable. "I- I didn't tell you everything last time." He began. "You see, my bad luck didn't end with my parents dying, it's followed me my whole life. As a result, I have a terrible power constantly following me, striking out at anyone who dares get close." Nagito laughed darkly.   
"But that's not the worst part. Once it had eliminated everyone close to me, it took action against me, directly." He paused, gauging Hajime's reaction.

"What- what do you mean?" he asked confused, "it affected you? How?"

"Front-temporal dementia and third stage Lymphoma," Nagito said curtly.   
"They're both brain diseases," He explained at Hajime's confused expression.  
"I have- oh about a year left to live."   
He said, trying to sound as callous as possible. The sooner Hajime realized he was a lost cause, the better.  
"This happened right after I got accepted to Hopes Peak Academy though, so I honestly couldn't be happier! I mean, I get to spend the last of my life surrounded by such brilliant hope!" Nagito's voice broke into mania by the end of his speech, his determination to believe in the words and make Hajime believe too fueling him. 

 

"Hey, Nagito?" Hajime asked cautiously, deliberately using his first name. 

 

Hajime's voice brought Nagito swiftly back to reality. The sympathy and caring in his tone made Nagito's skin crawl. (Why are you looking at me like that! I'm disgusting, you're supposed to hate me! I can't even do something so simple as making you hate me! I really am useless.)   
"Yes, Hinata-kun?"

"Come here." He said, getting up and held his arms out for a hug. "Don't resist this, just come here."

"Hinata-kun?" Nagito said, torn.   
He slowly stepped closer, not daring to disobey a direct order, even though it was working against his objective. Nagito approached Hajime until he was standing in front of his chest, Hajime's arms barely touching his shoulders. Nagito kept his arms firmly at his sides, looking at Hajime curiously.

"It's going to work out. I don't know how, but it's going to work out in the end. I'm not going anywhere." Hajime said softly before carefully enveloping him in a hug. "It's going to be okay, so let yourself feel for other people because I'll stick by your side, as whatever you want me to be." 

"I- I" Nagito choked, letting his head fall on Hajime's shoulder.   
"Hinata-kun-" He whispered, unable to form a coherent sentence.  
Hajime kept holding him, and eventually, Nagito gathered up the courage to gently move one of his hands to Hajime's side, not quite a hug but still touching the other, albeit only slightly, leaving plenty of room for Hajime to pull away or slap away Nagito's hand.

"You can call me Hajime if you want." he murmured softly, drawing the hug just a little bit tighter.   
"It's going to be okay, I'll be here for you."

"Hina- Hajime. Hajime you-" Nagito sobbed, feeling that uncomfortable choking in his throat as he usually got before crying. His entire body began to shake in panic and apprehension.   
"Hajime you make me-" he said, but choked again, as a sob escaped him.

"Shh... I'm not going anywhere," he said, easing up on the hug if Nagito needed space but he didn't dare to let go just yet. "I'm not going to leave you, or die, or magically disappear. I'll stay right here, with you," he said, giving him a smile.

"Y-you're the worst, Hajime" Nagito choked between sobs.   
"I- this wasn't- You make me so- want things. You make me want selfish things, but someone as disgusting as me has no right to want things, let alone the things that I want, so-"   
Nagito began to ramble, the self-deprecating instilling a sense of security in him. He could pretend that everything was as it used to be, that he was content simply with basking in the hope the other Ultimates gave off, watching from the sidelines. He could pretend that he didn't *want* things, like holding Hajime's hand or spending time together, or-

"Nagito. No one but you thinks that you're disgusting. I definitely don't. From what I've seen you're clever, you're intelligent, you've been through some stuff that would make anyone curl up in a corner and wish it was all over yet here you are - you're strong and you get up, even when life knocks you down. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met." Hajime praised."Every day you surprise me and amaze me all over again. You out of all people in the world deserve to be a little bit selfish, or very selfish when you want."

Nagito sobbed audibly at those words. Hajime didn't understand, why didn't he understand? Nagito was nothing more than a stepping stone for Hope, he didn't deserve to have feelings, or emotions or regrets. He wanted- needed to be of use to the Ultimates, to be of use to Hope.   
The way Hajime talked about him with admiration was incomprehensible. Hajime was talented, he was the smart an clever one. Nagito was just a nobody, another talentless useless person that nobody would miss.   
He wanted to explain all of this to Hajime, wanted to make him see the truth, but he didn't know how. "I'm just- I don't deserve this-" He choked instead, his soft grip around Hajime's waist growing slightly tighter as he tried to keep his body from trembling.

"Yes you do, you deserve every bit of affection we can offer and more," he said, tightening his hug around Nagito again. "Nagito, I like you, and I want to stay by your side and let you know how important you are to me, every day." Hajime's hand ran through Nagito's hair. "Is that okay with you?"

"I-" Nagito was unable to answer. He knew what he was supposed to say, push Hajime away and declare that he hated the other. He was certain that Hajime would leave him alone if he asked, and besides, Hajime could do so much better than someone like him.  
But his entire body was melting in Hajime's hold, that comfortable tingling feeling he got when they'd held hands being a thousand times stronger and surging through him like a shockwave with every movement.  
Hajime's words terrified him, made the logical part of him want to run as far away as possible. But he couldn't leave, so instead, he sobbed, "Aren't you scared?"

"I'm on an island where we just doomed our murderous classmate to death, of course, I'm scared. But not of you," he said cheesily, meaning every word of it. "I'm scared for you, but not of you."

"M-my luck!" Nagito whispered hoarsely.   
"It took away my friends- my parents, It's going to take you too, I know it! Hajime please, I'm too dangerous too-"   
He was interrupted by more tears falling down his cheeks. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed Nagito couldn't stop them. 

"I'm not gonna let it." Hajime said confidently. "I mean, I already cheated death twice today, I'd say it's protecting me instead." he hummed, laying his head comfortably in the nook of Nagito's neck. "I'll be okay, I promise you."

"P-promise?"   
Nagito whispered anxiously. He didn't want to believe it, nothing had ever bested his luck before. Nobody close to him had been spared, and Nagito had been left to wander the world all alone, running from death at every turn and praying that he wouldn't meet his end alone. Could Hajime truly reverse all that?   
Nagito remembered what Hajime had said earlier, and his heart did all remaining of the thinking for him.  
"Please- Hajime please- please don't go." He sobbed into the other's shoulder, his arms desperately grabbing onto Hajime's back. "Please don't leave me all alone." He choked on his tears.

"I won't. I won't ever leave you alone. I promise." he said, soothingly stroking Nagito's back before squeezing him back with the same intensity. "I promise you I won't ever leave you all alone."

"Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?" Hajime asked, after a few minutes of crying and hugging and promises. 

Nagito nodded, not trusting himself to speak. It had been many years since he'd last slept in the same bed as someone else, probably not since his parents had died. Suddenly, the absurdity of the situation fully set in, and Nagito giggled in exasperation.   
He'd come here with the intention of leaving Hajime, of cutting all ties and protecting the other from himself. And yet here he was, more entangled in Hajime's web of care and promises than he'd ever been before, and at this point, he didn't know if he even could go back. He really was pathetic, he couldn't even convince Hajime to hate him.

"What are you laughing about?" He asked with a small smile, pulling back from the hug to look at Nagito.

Nagito wiped his eyes.  
"To think I was going to convince you to hate me. I had a whole story set up too, you know. An entire narrative, where I'd look like a pathetic, attention-seeking liar and you'd feel terrible for wasting your kindness and time on a piece of trash like me, and you'd never ever look back to me again-" His voice broke, as more tears fell down his cheeks. 

"Well good luck with that, that's gonna be a tough task now that I've gotten all attached to you."   
Hajime said, picking him up off the ground and hoisted him a bit higher onto his hips.  
"And I'm not gonna let go. I'm like one of those weird land jellyfish that worms stuck to you and never leaves."

Nagito laughed wearily. He couldn't bring himself to speak, couldn't place words to the myriad of emotions crowding his brain. Instead, he looked down at Hajime's lips formed into a bright smile, and he felt his own quirk upward in response. 

He never wanted to come back to the ground again.

"Now I know what my ultimate talent is. Ultimate Nagito-hugger." He grinned up at him before setting him down.  
"Let's go to bed? We have just recovered from being sick, plus investigating, plus a trial after all," he suggested, braiding their fingers together.

"Well, I'm not sure that's a noteworthy talent..."   
Nagito giggled, feeling that same surge of nervous energy as before when Hajime intertwined their fingers. He yawned suddenly, feeling all the fatigue from crying rush him at once after the adrenaline had disappeared.   
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." He agreed, once Hajime proposed they head back. His agreement was punctuated by another yawn, and he brought his free hand up to cover his mouth.

"I'd like to disagree, I'd say my talent is probably the most important talent on these islands, on this planet, in this universe." Hajime refuted, his whole heart feeling warm and soft and fluffy as he looked to Nagito with his red puffy eyes and yawn.

Nagito shrugged. "If you say so." He said, averting his face from Hajime's view before he could see his red cheeks.   
They walked toward Hajime's cottage together, much slower than usual due to the fact that Nagito was practically cuddling Hajime's arm, not that the other was complaining.  
"Are you sure about this, Hajime?" Nagito asked as they approached Hajime's cottage.   
"I mean- doing something like this- with me?"

"110% sure. That means I'm getting 10% more sure every step we take towards the cottage." he nodded.  
"I won't regret this, I promise, and I'm not going to break any promises either," he said and unlocked the hut.

Nagito wanted to make a joke, but he wasn't sure his voice would hold. Hajime said these things so matter-a-factly like they were obvious truths, yet every time he opened his mouth it was as if he dropped another bomb. He just casually flipped Nagito's entire world on its head, and then helped him see sense of it all. Nagito never thought he'd get used to it. But he would have to, wouldn't he? After all, Hajime had said "every day for the rest of our lives." If he intended to keep that promise... 

"I only have one rule to set up before we go to bed," he said, unlocking the door with one hand, refusing to let go of Nagito's hand. "No stabbing anyone in bed." 

That got a chuckle out of Nagito, as he was pulled inside Hajime's cottage.  
It was spartan, quite a lot like his own actually. No fancy talent related decor like the other Ultimates had gotten, but for some reason, the cottage still felt like Hajime. Like he'd left his mark on everything in the room. Well, everything except for...

"Hajime, if you don't mind me asking, what is *that*?"   
Nagito pointed to a big shelf covered in what looked like red satin. On the shelf, a large number of miniature Monokuma dolls had been placed. The shelf looked about as out of place as you could get.

"I did not put that up there, I swear," Hajime said defensively.   
"Monokuma had set up this hunt for the -stupid- plushies all over the island. I don't take them home but they appear anyway," he said pained. "It is so creepy to look at them when you sleep, so I just turn it around before bed."

Nagito walked up to the dolls and picked one up. "Hmm, I think they're kind of cute..."   
He chuckled at Hajime's disbelieving expression. He'd wanted to keep teasing the other, but as soon as he opened his mouth, it turned into a big yawn. He rubbed his eyes.  
"Ah- sorry Hajime, seems like the excitement really took its toll on me."

"Yeah, today's been.. Eventful, to say the least." he agreed and took off his shirt.

Nagito quickly turned his head away, not accidentally wanting to overstep his bounds. Hajime had been so incredibly kind to invite him over to share his cottage, and Nagito remembered all too well his reaction to seeing him naked previously. He slowly slid off his jacket and folded it, placing it next to the big satin shelf.  
"Ah- Hajime, I completely forgot about bringing any sleepwear." He said, getting the other's attention.

"It's fine, I usually sleep in my underwear anyway. " Hajime shrugged, not thinking much of it

"Ah-" Nagito began, unsure of how to formulate his response.   
"It's just, nobody should have to be exposed to someone as awful as me, in that embarrassing state, you know?" He averted his eyes, focusing his gaze on the neatly folded fabric of his jacket on the ground beneath him. 

"I don't mind. Otherwise, if you're uncomfortable with that, just borrow one of my shirts to sleep in." Hajime said, getting out of his pants too and sat on the edge of the bed.

Nagito nodded. Borrowing one of Hajime's shirts might be the best alternative he had, save for stumbling to his cottage in the middle of the night to get his sleep clothes. Hajime said he didn't mind, but Nagito didn't think he was being honest. Hajime had been so uncomfortable before, and he didn't want to risk doing anything to make him feel that way again.   
"If you'd be so kind, I would like to borrow something to sleep in then," He said, smiling gratefully.

Hajime got back up again and over to the drawers, digging through them to find a comfy t-shirt. "How about this one?" he asked, holding up a simple grey one. "How are your bruises by the way?"

Right. Nagito had been too busy during the investigation to think about it, but the agony that usually shot through his body whenever he moved too much had subsided into a dull ache.   
"They feel much better, Hajime." He said truthfully. "No doubt it's because of your immeasurable kindness, I don't know how to thank you." 

"How about just a simple thank you?" he suggested with a smile and handed over the probably way too large shirt to Nagito and closed the closet. "I'm going to bed, feel free to join me." 

 

Nagito quickly changed into the offered clothes. The shirt was about his size, not surprising since he and Hajime were practically the same length, but much too broad for Nagito's slim frame. It hung off his collarbones awkwardly, and Nagito couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious, despite him knowing that he looked awful in anything he'd wear.   
Still, he turned to Hajime with a big smile on his face.  
"Thank you so much, Hajime. I'm guessing you want me to sleep on the couch? Or maybe on the floor, as would be befitting of someone like me.."

"No, come here," Hajime said, already fluffing a pillow for Nagito. "I don't want to sleep alone tonight," he said, pulling aside the blanket for Nagito to get in too. 

Nagito looked at the offered spot in the bed with disbelief. The only answer he could muster being a stuttered, "Alright, Hajime." As he slowly approached the bed, sitting down on the edge. He tentatively lay down, making certain that Hajime had plenty of time and opportunity to push him off if he changed his mind, and felt Hajime drape the covers over him. 

"Goodnight, Nagito," Hajime said, curling up comfortably next to him and found his hand under the covers. "Sleep tight." he smiled and closed his eyes. 

"Hajime- if you change your mind at any point during tonight, feel free to push me off, okay?" Nagito mumbled, his eyes already drifting shut from tiredness. Hajime's hand felt nice in his, and as much as he wanted to pretend otherwise, he felt more at ease here than he had while sleeping for a long time. Probably since his parents died.

"That won't happen, but I promise I will." he nodded sleepily and soon drifted asleep


	14. That's enough death and despair for now, right? Yeah. Time for some fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We  
> Are  
> Back!
> 
> This part of the fic (I.E The part where we had both written so much angst we just needed a break and also exams were coming up,) is where you'll find the weirdest tangents. Don't worry guys, the fish facts are coming up soon.
> 
> (Edit: About 1/3rd of the chapter disappeared into subspace when I posted this. It has now been fixed, but if you stopped reading as they were heading toward the beach, then there's a whole nother part for you to enjoy now.)
> 
> But yeah! The freaking hit counter is through the roof again (seriously you guys are insane) and all the people who have taken time out of their days to leave a comment, you guys are the best.  
> Both of us authors are in complete awe by the support and love this unedited, self-indulgent fic has received. We love you guys!

Hajime awoke to the tones of the Monokuma announcement like usual. At first, he was disoriented and felt like something was out place. Then he noticed the gentle breathing of Nagito lying opposite him.  
The other had his back turned to him, but one hand was tightly intertwined with his own. Nagito's hair was splayed out beneath him, no messier than it usually was. 

Guess he really does have permanent bed-head, Hajime thought fondly. 

Nagito heard the monokuma announcement, he really did, but did he react to it?  
No, he definitely didn't.  
For once he was comfortable and even if it just was for a few seconds, he just wanted to be selfish and enjoy the warmth and touch of another- oh no. His eyes shot wide open, remembering how Hajime had gotten close to him the other night. There was no way he'd have held Nagito's hand all night, he probably only did it until he fell asleep, as kind and generous as he was, because who'd actually care about someone like him? For him to still be holding his hand- Nagito's luck must've gotten him before he could even fall asleep.  
"-nata-kun!?" Nagito's voice broke in the beginning as he'd just woken up.

Hajime smiled as Nagito rolled over in the bed. "Good morning, Nagito." He greeted. 

"Oh thank goodness you're alive." he exhaled in relief, laying down again, holding up his hands to his face and sighed.  
"I'm sorry, to have someone this bothersome this early in the morning, I should go, I'm sorry-"

"Hey- Nagito!" Hajime said, watching the other with concern. He gently pried Nagito's hands away from his face.  
"Look at me," He said gently.  
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you." He reminded the other.  
"I'm here. I'm alright."

"I'm sorry, you just want a peaceful morning and I'm just messing it up by being here,"  
Komaeda said shaking his head before finally looking Hajime in the eyes.

"You're not messing up anything, I wanted you here, remember? I don't know if I could have even fallen asleep without you here." Hajime said, trying to reassure. He touched his neck, the feeling of bruised skin beneath his fingers making him cringe. 

"You saved me- no you saved us all during that trial. I'd never have figured out that the poison was airborne if it weren't for you. Tsumiki would have won."

"Yeah, you would have. Remember how you were going to drink that allegedly poisoned water?"  
Nagito chuckled, his whole being screaming at him for being so stupid to keep endangering Hajime like this.

 

Hajime reddened. "Shut it- I wasn't in my right mind, okay?"  
He said, throwing an arm over his face to hide his blushing.  
God, Nagito looked amazing when he was smiling like that. He was unfairly pretty- like the universe was hell-bent on torturing Hajime with this beautiful boy who couldn't possibly like him back. 

"Understandably so, I mean you'd just see two classmates murdered and then you were forced to be around me." he laughed, his tone growing self-depreciating.

"Dammit, Nagito I just finished telling you how you totally saved me and the other's during that trial!"  
Hajime groaned. It was far too early for a bout of Nagito's self-deprecation.  
He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes as he tried to rejoin the waking world.  
"How about we go and meet the others for breakfast?" He suggested, wanting to change the subject.

"If they want me there, then sure." he agreed, sitting up. "Thank you for letting me borrow your shirt, I'll wash it properly and return it to you immediately."

"Nagito- of course, they do."  
Hajime argued, but the look in Nagito's eyes made him refrain from pressing. Instead, he got up and started to rifle through his drawers for clothes.  
"And, don't worry about the shirt- you don't need to go through any trouble. I'll just wash it whenever I pull myself together and do the laundry." He laughed.

"I would hate for you to put yourself through all of that trouble for someone as worthless and useless as me, I'd never have forgiven myself," he said sternly.

Hajime sighed. "Okay, how about you help me do the laundry then? Compromise?" ¨  
He suggested. He felt awful whenever Nagito wanted to do menial tasks for him like he was just using the other.  
Then again, Hajime thought darkly, Isn't that exactly what he wants?

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, ever so grateful that Hajime would let him do such a task.  
"I'll be very careful not to ruin anything."

"Okay, we'll do that after breakfast then?" Hajime suggested, buttoning his shirt.  
"Do you want me to get your clothes? If you want a fresh pair, I mean." '

"I'll manage unless you think I'm gross or something - I'll go change immediately," he said, getting up.

"Alright," Hajime said, noting with amusement how Nagito neatly smoothed over the covers after he got off the bed. He waited as Nagito changed (leaving Hajime's grey shirt neatly folded on his bed), and they both left the cottages together.

Nagito set out with a clear course towards his own hut to quickly shower and change, not wanting to keep Hajime waiting, in case he for some reason decided to. It took him about five minutes all in all and he came out of his hut with hair still soaking wet. 

"How does it do that?" Hajime asked, completely in awe. Nagito looked at him curiously.  
Your hair! It's dripping wet but it still looks like freaking cotton candy!"  
Hajime shook his head in disbelief. "I swear to god, it's defying gravity."

"The trick is to stop caring about it after the second time it falls out from chemo." Nagito smiled, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. 

Hajime's face fell.  
Of course, Nagito had told him about his diseases as soon as the day prior.  
Nagito looked like he was about to apologize, but Hajime quickly gathered his courage, reaching out to stroke a wet lock of hair from his forehead.  
"Well, I think it's very pretty." He said quickly before he could get embarrassed.

"I used to have almost auburn hair," Nagito told him, smiling at the ground. "Let's go eat breakfast?"

"Really?" Hajime said. He couldn't imagine Nagito in any other look than the wispy white curls he sported now.  
"You'll have to show me pictures when we get off this island." He suggested as they started to walk toward the Hotel.

"If we get out before I die, then sure." he agreed. "There should be some pictures left in the photo albums of my library. I think you will have grown sick of being around someone as dull and gross as me by then though." he chuckled, (If I'm even still alive by then.)

"I'd love to," Hajime said, smiling at the other. "But wait, you have a library? That sounds kind of excessive?" He said, chuckling.

"I like to read and I have a lot of money." he reminded him.  
"I like the library, it's peaceful and quiet in there. No meteorites to cash and kill everyone I love in there either." 

Hajime suddenly felt bad.  
"Yeah, yeah you're right," He agreed.  
"Hey, how about we go to the library after we've done the laundry? Maybe you can recommend some good books for me?"  
God knew they needed the break after all the shit they'd been through recently. Hajime swallowed, trying his best to ignore the uncomfortable tightness of his throat and the way the bruises chafed against the collar of his shirt. 

Yeah, a quiet day with Nagito sounded nice.

"I could do that, but are you completely okay with reading what trash like me recommends? Are you sure you wouldn't want to ask Sonia for recommendations instead? She most likely has a much more suitable taste in books for an Ultimate than trash like me." Nagito asked as they walked past the pool.

"Did I ask Sonia?" Hajime asked slowly.  
"I asked you because I wanted to hear from you. I value your opinion, Nagito, even if you don't seem to understand that." 

"I'm sorry I made you angry." Nagito apologized. If I was to make this extremely out of character I'd have him pull up the hood on his jacket, but that does seem more of a Chiaki move.  
"I'll do the best trash like I can to give you good book recommendations."

"No wait-" Hajime said.  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed. You don't need to do anything you don't want you to do. I just want you to know that I care about you, okay?" He said, trying to reconcile. The last thing he wanted was to go back to Nagito seeing himself as some kind of servant to them.

Nagito gave a small nod and set his foot first on the staircase directly leading up to the restaurant.  
"What are you going to have for breakfast, Hi- Hajime?"

Hajime shrugged.  
"Probably just some rice or something. I'm honestly not that hungry. What about you?" They climbed the staircase, entering the restaurant and greeting the others. 

"Toast." He smiled. "Maybe an orange too, even though they're too sweet. That of course if Akane decides to pity someone as miserable as me and leaves me some scraps."

Akane looked up at the mention of her name but quickly went back to devouring the ungodly amount of food stacked on her plate. Hajime chuckled, walked over and took an orange from her huge pile of fruit. 

"Hey, Hinataa! Don't touch my food," She complained but was too busy eating to confront him.  
Hajime handed the orange to Nagito, before taking a plate of his own and gathering some breakfast.

"Thank you." He murmured and went to get a piece of toast and then settled down at a table.

Hajime sat across from him, taking small bites of his rice to avoid upsetting his sore throat. Soon, the other students trickled in, one after another. Some polite conversation was held, but the restaurant was mostly covered with uncomfortable silence. Everyone was mellow after the previous day's events.  
Hajime, not really that keen on staying in the dismal atmosphere, was glad to lead Nagito away towards the library after they'd finished the breakfast. Something about walking around in the sun with Nagito by his side really calmed his nerves.

"So, Hi- Hajime, what genres do you like?" Nagito asked as they walked around, browsing the shelves of the library

Hajime shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really read a whole lot of fiction. I guess detective novels and superhero stories always appealed to me, but I don't know. That was mostly wish-fulfillment." Hajime scanned the titles on the shelf they'd stopped in front of. "I don't recognize any of these.."

"Here," Nagito said, finally finding what he was looking for. "This is one of my favorites," he said and pulled out an older hardback cover copy of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 

Hajime looked at the book curiously. "Wow, these are some heavy subjects," He commented, opening it to a random page. "You like dystopian literature then?"

"Yeah. I like this one quote in here too,  
"if you cannot feel pain, can you ever truly feel joy?"  
Nagito smiled fondly at the book.  
"I like detective series too, as long as they're realistic and complex. I find that a lot of detective novels follow a blind detective."

Hajime looked at Nagito curiously. It certainly sounded like something he'd enjoy, even if Hajime generally preferred lighter material.  
Nagito looked really passionate about this book though, it must mean a lot to him. Hajime wondered if reading it might help him understand Nagito a bit better. He took the book from Nagito's grasp. "Thanks, I'm sure I'll enjoy it," He said, looking down at it again.

"You don't have to read it if you don't want to, I'm sure there's plenty of other books that you'll enjoy more or other things you want to do, you don't have to stay locked up in here with me all day," he said and began browsing the shelves for a book for himself to read. "Hinata- Hajime? Do you have a favorite book?"

"You know, if you'd prefer using my last name, that's perfectly fine," Hajime said, a teasing note creeping into his voice. 

"Nono, I'm just used to calling you Hinata, I'm sorry I don't learn fast enough." he apologized, embarrassed by his letup. 

"Don't worry, I'm just messing with you," Hajime said.  
"I don't know how many times I've almost called you Komaeda," He chuckled. 

"Anyway, as I said before I didn't read a whole lot. And when I got older, I was too busy studying to really get into literature."  
Hajime laughed ruefully.  
"So I don't really have any favorite books, sorry." He concluded

"Ah, that's a shame. I'm sure you were too busy with your talent," he said awestruck. "I had too much free time, and luck isn't exactly something you practice, it just comes in and messes it all up when you want it the least."

"Well yeah, maybe. Maybe the reason why I can't remember anything but studying is that I don't have the memories from my talent," Hajime said, cheering up slightly.  
"Maybe that's also why I don't really remember having the best relationship with my parents. You know, it always felt like they were kinda disappointed in me." He shrugged. "That doesn't matter now, anyway."

"I'm sure they were very proud of you, as amazing as you are," Nagito said softly.  
"I mean, you're an ultimate, how could they not be proud of you? Unless your talent really was something as useless as Ultimate Nagito-hugger, in that case, I'd understand it completely."

"Yeah- yeah they must have been. I mean, I got accepted to Hopes Peak, didn't I?" Hajime said, feeling a bit better. For some reason, thinking about his parents always made him feel unwanted, unappreciated. He supposed that's what he would have felt like every day, had he not discovered his talent.  
Still, Nagito's complete faith and belief in him always cheered him up.  
"Thanks, Nagito." He said earnestly, giving the other a smile.

"So, do you want to go get some tea before we begin reading?" Nagito asked, reading the backside of the book he picked.

"Yeah, that might be nice," Hajime agreed. "We could go grab some at the Diner, since going all the way back to the Hotel would be a hassle." They went over to a pair of chairs and placed the books on a nearby table. 

"I wonder if we could check books out?" Nagito hummed and looked around for a sign about checkouts. 

 

"Weell..." A high pitched voice sounded throughout the library. Hajime turned around, expecting to see Monokuma,  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he spat, thoroughly annoyed at having his quiet time interrupted.  
"Aww... Hinata, there's no need to yell!" Monomi said, looking solemnly down at the ground.  
"You looked like you were having fun, so I wanted to answer Komaeda's question, is all..."

"So answer it and leave." Komaeda sighed annoyed.  
"And yes, we were having fun, until you decided to show up." he almost spat at Monomi

"Hawawaa you're so cold, Komaeda!" Monomi cried, her shoulders drooping.  
"Anyway, I normally don't allow this, but since you boys are so orderly, I suppose I can allow you to borrow a book each. But they need to be brought back once you've finished them, got it?"  
Monomi seemingly cheered herself up again.  
"You know, as your teacher, it makes me very proud to see you taking your studies seriously!" She chimed.

"How come this island wasn't available at first then? It would've been a bit hard to be a diligent student otherwise, no?" he challenged. "But I'll gratefully accept your humble offer to let us borrow books from the library." Nagito sneered towards the bunny.  
"Let's go..." he murmured to Hajime, not proud of what he just said.

Hajime nodded and followed Nagito out of the library. "ByeBye! Have a good time!" Monomi shouted after them, seemingly not deterred.  
"Ugh, I wish she would just leave us alone," Hajime said once they'd exited the Library. "I don't care if she isn't working with monokuma, she looks just like him and it freaks me out."

"I don't like how fake she acts, or how she doesn't think further than her own nose." Nagito shuddered. "Wanna read at the beach? Feels like it would be more comfortable there than in a diner."

Hajime voiced his agreement, and they headed to the diner to prepare some tea.  
"Hey Nagito, which book did you end up choosing?" Hajime asked on the way there.

"A classic, How to kill a Mockingbird." He said. "I heard it's part of the curriculum in America to read it, never got around to it." 

"Aha, I think I've heard of that one. Man, you read heavy stuff," Hajime commented, bumping his elbow into Nagito's playfully. 

They reached the diner and were pleased to find it empty. As much as Hajime liked his classmates, they were usually so *loud*, and Hajime really didn't want to deal with that right then.  
"Okay, what kind of tea do you want?" Hajime asked, preparing to boil some water.

"Barley would be nice. But I'll take what's served." he smiled at him, flicking his book open to the first page.

Hajime scanned the shelves, quickly locating a can of Barely tea. He held it up to show Nagito, but the other was already engrossed in his book, so Hajime left him be. He quickly prepared two cups of tea, and then joined Nagito at his table.  
"Is it good?" He asked, noting that Nagito hadn't torn his gaze from the novel yet.

"Mm, I enjoy it," he replied, focused, and flipped a page.

"Come on, you can read at the beach." Hajime replied, tugging on Nagito's hand, which he'd used to turn the page.

"Ah, sure!"  
Nagito reached for a napkin and folded it in between the pages.  
"Coming. I'm sure others would've been more fun to spend time with."

Hajime held up his hand, which was still closed around Nagito's so that their intertwined hands were in full view.  
"Is this enough to prove that I actually want you here?" He asked, squeezing Nagito's hand to emphasize his point.  
"Because if not, what else do you want me to do? Just pick you up an carry you everywhere?"

"It's just hard to accept that someone as amazing as you would want to spend time around trash like me. But your gracious invitation makes me want to cry... There's no way I could decline..."He said fondly, looking down at their hands.  
"I hope I'm not too much of a bother "

Hajime pulled Nagito out of his seat by the arm.  
"Do you want me to pick you up? Because I will." He said, only half joking.  
"You're not a bother Nagito, and I only asked to spend time with you because I enjoy your company, okay?"

Nagito gave a nod and got up, holding Hajime's hand loosely so the other would have the possibility to let go once he realized how disgusting and selfish Nagito was.

They held hands all the way to the beach, and Hajime used his book to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight as they approached the beach house. "Man, it's hot today" He commented, feeling the sun on his face.

Nagito hummed in agreement, wiggling out of his jacket only for a little while.

They settled by the edge of the water and Hajime kicked off his shoes and socks to let the oncoming waves wash over his feet. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about the tea cooling," He said, placing his cup in the sand. "Though perhaps something cooler would have been better." He shrugged.

"There's a fridge in the beach house, right?" Nagito asked and sat down on his jacket.

"Right" Hajime agreed. He'd tried to block out as much as he could of anything related to the beach house after... Well after Mahiru, but he did remember that much. Hajime flipped open his book, anxious to know why Nagito held it in such high regard. A quick glance sideways told him Nagito had also immersed himself in his novel.

 

The two read for almost an hour before Nagito folded a dog ear in the book and fainted, collapsing into the sand.  
He had previously been nearly chugging tea and panting, sweat coating his forehead.

Hajime was so engrossed in his novel, he probably wouldn't have realized Nagito wasn't reading beside him anymore, had Nagito's cup not fallen over. It landed by his knee with a soft thud, and Hajime looked over in surprise.

That's when he noticed Nagito was lying on the ground, face flushed and sweat beading on his brow.

"Nagito! What's wrong?" He practically shouted in terror. When the other didn't reply, Hajime took ahold of his shoulders and shook him, trying to get a response.   
"Nagito! Wake up dammit!"  
Hajime wondered briefly whether he'd be held accountable if Nagito died, but pushed the thought aside.  
Nagito wouldn't die.

Hajime placed his hand on Nagito's forehead, only to quickly pull it back.   
Nagito was burning up.  
Dammit, he thought, with that pale complexion, no wonder the heat had gotten to him.  
"Why didn't you say anything?" He muttered angrily.

Hajime tried to calm himself down. He needed to cool Nagito down somehow. The ideal way would be to get some cold water from the beach house, but he didn't want to leave Nagito's side for even a second. 

Wait, water. Of course.

Hajime cupped his hands in the ocean water and threw what he could gather over Nagito's face.  
Getting another idea he quickly pulled off his tie, too afraid to even flinch at the pain that shot through his neck, and dipped the garment in the water.   
He folded it and placed it on Nagito's forehead, hoping it would yield some more permanent cool than the water had.  
"Come on, wake up Nagito" He muttered.

Nagito sputtered out a cough as some salt water got in his nose, flipping over to his stomach to hack the water out mixed with snot. "Hot.." he panted before thudding face first into the sand.

"Nagito! Thank God!" Hajime breathed as Nagito sputtered awake.  
"You overheated," He explained quickly, "come on, let's get you inside," He said, picking Nagito up and causing his wet tie to fall off into the sand, not that Hajime noticed. He quickly carried Nagito into the beach house, placing him as far in the shade as possible.

"Just drop me off in the fridge and leave me there for a day or so." he chuckled, soaking wet, from the seawater or sweat?   
No one knew. 

Hajime bristled. "Nagito this isn't funny, you could have died! Why didn't you tell me you were too hot?"   
He hid his trembling hands in his pockets, not wanting Nagito to see how scared he'd been. He couldn't hide the tremor in his voice, however, nor the tears gathering in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry, I just didn't want to bother you, and I can't just turn down such an invitation, it made me so happy I thought I'd pee," he said with an apologetic, yet deranged smile. "How can I make it up to you, I'll do anything."

"Nagito you- don't ever scare me like that again. I was terrified, do you understand that?" Hajime asked, his voice almost breaking over the last words. He wiped his eyes with his arm and breathed slowly to calm down.

"I'm sorry Hajime, I promise I won't do it again, I promise I won't burden you with something like this ever again," he said sweetly,  
"I won't ever make you have to either watch nor touch something so horrible, ever." 

"I- dammit Nagito that's what I meant! Don't you get that the reason why I'm scared is that I WANT to do all of those things? Watch you, touch you, whatever." Hajime said, his cheeks reddening as he thought over what he'd just said. 

Nagito registered what he said and processed it for a minute, not knowing whether to laugh or accept it and submit.   
"Ha-Hajime, please don't be angry.." he tried with a shocked smile on his face, "I'm really truly sorry, I don't- I don't know how to read into this?" he said truthfully.  
He really couldn't read Hajime right now, he looked angry. Angry and hurt, but he couldn't get why he was mad.

"Nagito..." Hajime began. Could that really be true? Nagito really didn't understand why he was worried.  
"Nagito, okay. I'll try to explain it to you."   
He took a deep breath, where did he even begin?  
"Okay, let's start like this. How would you feel if something really bad happened to me? Like, like when Tsumiki attacked me, how did it make you feel?" He said, thinking that starting with Nagito's own experiences might make it easier for him to understand.

"Angry, I felt angry and scared and like I just wanted to rip her away from you and I felt weak like I was going to have you torn from me too and I felt guilty," he remembered back, trying to connect it to this.  
He couldn't though, he couldn't get why Hajime was so upset about /him/ passing out.

"Yeah, right. Why do you think you felt that way?" Hajime asked.  
Damn, he felt like a freaking therapist or something. But he felt like he was getting closer. Clearly, Nagito understood the concept of caring about someone, he just didn't understand that Hajime felt that way.

"Because I-" he didn't want to say it and increase the already very high risks of his luck tearing Hajime limb from limb. He really didn't want to say, what should he do? Act clueless? No, Someone with hope and mind as bright as Hajime's would immediately uncover it, maybe this was his chance to tear himself from him and save him from Nagito's ensued fate.

Hajime noticed Nagito's discomfort and decided to back off. "You don't have to tell me," He said, trying to get the other to calm down. "But Nagito, could you imagine someone feeling that way about you?"

He thought for a brief moment. "No," he laughed. "That's crazy and they would have horrible taste in men if I can even be called that."

"Nagito please." Hajime took his hands, cradling them in his own. "Please, I want you to try, okay?"

"Hajime, I'm sorry but you're acting crazy. There is no way anyone could feel that for a lowly dung beetle like me," he said, spitting out a bit of sand from his mouth. "If you do you should stop, it's not safe."

"Nagito, you're not listening to me. Please." He said bowing his head. He needed to do something to make Nagito understand, make him realize Hajime's feelings.   
"Nagito listen- you're wrong. The way you feel about me- I feel the same about you as well. I know it. I can't help it. I care more about you than anyone else! So, when you were in danger earlier, I felt just like you did in the 3rd trial." He tried to put on a comforting smile. "Do you understand now?"

"I- I think so." he lied, he still after all of this couldn't grasp why Hajime would ever feel that way about a filthy cockroach like himself. "I'm sorry Hajime, let me make it up to you."

Hajime let out a relieved laugh. He leaned forward and embraced Nagito tightly, burying his head in Nagito's too warm shoulder.   
"It's okay. It's okay Nagito, just please don't make me go through anything like that again. I care so much about you, I don't know what I'd do if something-" He trailed off, not trusting himself to continue the sentence.

He missed his shot to push him away. Nagito sighed in defeat and laid a hand softly on his back, slowly, giving him time to slap it away if he didn't want it.

They sat for a long time, Hajime's head hidden in Nagito's shoulder, while Nagito held him gently. When he'd calmed down, Hajime broke the embrace, sitting up and wiping his eyes again.  
"Sorry Nagito, I feel better now. How are you feeling?" He asked, trying his best to mask his trembling voice.

"Hot, but not as hot. I need something to drink," he said, noting how Hajime's voice shook. "It can wait."

"Okay, um- I'll get you some water," Hajime said, standing and made his way toward the vending machine. He returned with two bottles of water, holding one out for Nagito to take.

Nagito pressed the chilly bottle to the side of his throat and sighed with relief before breaking it open. "Thank you." he panted after finishing his bottle. "I feel much better now."

Hajime held out the other one. "Here, if you don't feel like drinking it, you can use it to cool yourself down. And-" He fiddled with the edge of his shirt. "I'm sorry, Nagito. I never meant to make you uncomfortable. I might have gone too far."

"It's okay. I'm okay. Are you?" he asked, taking the bottle but wiped the sand off of his face first.

"I- I think so," Hajime said uncertainly. He looked at Nagito's flushed face. "We should head back, you need to rest Nagito."

"It's okay. I'd rather enjoy the time I have." he smiled and opened the next bottle, this tone only taking a slight sip.

"I- I guess so," Hajime said. He hadn't eaten a lot for breakfast, and it was quickly approaching lunch. "But Nagito- are you sure you're really alright? Please don't lie to me."

"Yeah, I'm okay. A bit tired but that's a constant," he said and screwed on the cork. "We should get our books too. And my jacket."

Hajime chuckled. "Oh yeah. Guess I'll have to collect my tie, even though that's probably ruined." He held out a hand to help Nagito up and didn't let his hand go.   
"Is this okay?" He asked carefully, wanting to make sure he didn't break any more boundaries.

"Yeah, I'm okay with this." he nodded, still screaming at himself inside for not being more careful with Hajime.

"Good, yeah. That's good." Hajime nodded, leading him by the hand toward their ruined stuff. An irrational part of him feared that Nagito would fall back onto the ground, panting and shaking with the heat, if he let go of him for a second. He really was too sickly, Hajime thought. Sick, frail and way too careless with himself.  
Well, that's sort of what I'm here for, isn't it? Hajime thought wryly as they walked over the beach. "Ultimate Keeping-Nagito-Alive-Expert." Maybe that was his talent.


	15. Did you think we were done bonding over the food? We're NEVER done bonding over food! (Seriously: We're just getting started)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy! This is just the authors swooping in for your daily reminder that we love you all and read all of your comments in awe. 
> 
> You guys are amazing. Special thanks to everyone who comments on the chapters, reading your thoughts is an amazingly motivating experience.

They collected the books and Nagito's jacket and after Hajime lamented the state of his now ruined tie, decided to have lunch at the diner. 

"Should I cook? I'm not very hungry." Nagito offered as they entered the air-conditioned diner.

"Why don't we cook together, like last time?" Hajime suggested. Despite them having a kitchen on the first island, the diner was stocked with fresh ingredients. Seemed... excessive, but Hajime was far past questioning the strange things on this island.  
"You get to choose the recipe though. The salad and garlic bread you prepared last time were super good!"

"The bruschetta? Yeah, I like it too. Wanna do something sandwich based or something else?" he wondered as he admired the wide array of ingredients. "I've always wanted to try a BLT sandwich." he murmured to himself.

"Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what that is, but sure! It's probably good." Hajime said, smiling. "Okay, so what can I help with?" He said, looking at Nagito expectantly.

"BLT is an American classic for Bacon Lettuce and Tomato. It's basically a sandwich. They have club sandwiched too, cheese, Lettuce, tomato, chicken and bacon." he explained. "I never had one. I did have bacon and fig sandwiches."

"Do Americans really feel the need to name *all* of their sandwiches? Like, there's really nothing wrong with ordering a "sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato" Is there? "Hajime said, amused.

"Maybe they're lazy? It's easier to say BLT?" he suggested as a possible answer. "Besides these are so big that even in Europe you can order a BLT."

"I suppose," Hajime shrugged. "Anyway, what do we need to craft this mystical BLT sandwich?" He asked, doing air quotes for ultimate dramatic effect

"Toast, bacon, Lettuce, and tomatoes. Oh and mayo. The Americans really love mayonnaise." he said and found a pleasant looking salad head.

"Okay, well I think I can manage that," Hajime said, opening the pantry to look for the ingredients. He quickly found them and brought everything over to Nagito. "Here we go, anything else?" He asked.

"I think that's it. Let's see if they have avocado and watermelon too," he said and put the bread in the toaster.

"We're putting watermelon on our sandwiches?" Hajime asked incredulously. "Man, Americans are weird."

"Nope, that's for after the sandwiches." Nagito chuckled and took the bacon to go fry it.

"Thank God," Hajime said.  
"Yes! There is a watermelon," He informed excitedly, taking it into his arms and carrying it along with the avocado back to Nagito. "Ugh, it's heavy" He grunted. "Hey Nagito, this melon might be heavier than you are."

"I doubt we're going to be able to finish it ourselves," he said, cutting the avocado and putting the pieces by the salad.

"Maybe we can invite the others and share it at the beach?" Hajime suggested. "God knows Akane would have it finished in 10 seconds if we let her, and Nekomaru would probably appreciate the gesture, even if he can't actually eat it."

"Yeah, if we're inviting someone to share it with us it's not gonna be Akane unless we find her a melon of her own." he snickered and began preparing the sandwiches, cutting them diagonally.

Hajime laughed. "I don't think a single melon would be enough for her, she'd eat everything in this pantry if she could." He picked up the lettuce, washing and cutting it as he spoke.  
"Akane might be the Ultimate eater, in addition to gymnast."

"Obviously we'd have to try to tire her out by having her crack it open first. Hey, how about a beach party?" He suggested, taking the lettuce from Hajime and putting it on the sandwiches. 

Hajime considered that. Maybe a beach party was exactly what they needed to cheer up after everything that'd happened. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." He said. "Let's go tell the other's after we've eaten."

"Yeah." he smiled and finished up the sandwiches. "Do they have anything to drink?" Nagito asked, still a bit thirsty, but full from the water he chugged before.

Hajime opened the fridge, scanning its contents. "Hmm, let's see. We have carbonated water, Panta, Panta with a slightly different color, this bottle that looks like radioactive waste..." He laughed, holding up two bottles, one filled with green, and the other with purple liquid. "Take your pick!"

"I think we'll avoid the radioactive waste." Nagito chuckled and scavenged for boxes to take the sandwiches with them to the beach. 

Hajime voiced his agreement, throwing anything that didn't look like 100% chemicals into a plastic bag to bring with them. They left the beach house together, heading toward the beach. This time, Hajime directed them toward a part of the beach that was shaded, not wanting a repeat of earlier.  
"You're sure you're okay to be out in the sun again?" He asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yeah, I'll just throw my jacket over my head and get shade that way instead." he hummed and found Tupperware to put it in. "Bingo."

"No, don't do that, it's going to make you even warmer!" Hajime argued. "Look, I think I remember there being parasols in the beach house, I can go get one, it'll provide much better shade." 

"That would work, but you don't have to go through all of that extra trouble for me," he assured him and finished packing.

"Nagito it isn't trouble. I told you- I want you to be safe. Wait here, I'll be right back." He said and jogged off toward the beach house. He returned swiftly, carrying a foldable parasol over his shoulder. 

"You're too kind." he murmured with a smile and laid out his jacket as a blanket for them to sit on. "So now we'll have to see out far out the Americans are with this." 

"Well, they certainly liked it enough to give it a unique name.." Hajime stated. Nagito chuckled and gave him a sandwich which Hajime, not having eaten anything since his meager breakfast immediately started to devour. "This is really good!" He exclaimed between bites.

"I think I would've liked it better without the mayonnaise." Nagito laughed nervously but enjoyed it nonetheless. "Can you pass me a bottle of water?"

Hajime did, and they enjoyed their meal in comfortable silence. Once the sandwiches were gone, Hajime stretched comfortably, feeling contentment from the good food and warm sun. "We should do this more often." He said, lying down in the sand. "You know, just relax and not worry about everything."

"Maybe there would be fewer killings." Nagito agreed, opening up the box with the watermelon they'd cut up at the diner. 

 

Hajime hummed in agreement, suddenly too tired to answer. The comfortable feeling of having eaten, combined with the warm sun on his face had made him incredibly drowsy.  
"M gonna fall asleep," He said, yawning.

"The watermelon is gonna get all warm and runny," Nagito warned taking a piece for himself and dug in. "If monokuma never had shown up I think we all would have gotten along very well here."

 

"Mm yeah..." Hajime agreed. He could picture that clearly, what their life had been if their bathing excursion hadn't ended in tragedy.  
"And I would have gotten to see you in a swimsuit up close..." He muttered teasingly, shutting his eyes against the shining sun.

Nagito flushed red at those words, stuttering out a reply- he just couldn't come up with what, so instead he replied by eating another bite of his watermelon.  
"We could- we could go swim later- if you'd like."

"Yeah, sounds good." Hajime agreed. His mind felt similar to when he'd had the despair disease, not clearly having boundaries between thoughts and spoken words.  
"You know, Nagito. I'm really glad you're the first person I met here. You probably don't know it, but I would have been a mess without you there, that first day." Hajime mumbled, unsure what was provoking the sudden emotional outburst he was feeling. Maybe it was remnants from the shock he'd gone through earlier that day, or maybe just influence on account of the warm sun.

"Hajime are you okay?" Nagito laughed awkwardly, "You should drink something," he said and handed him a bottle. "I'm glad I could be of use though."

Hajime rubbed his eyes. "Why do you always talk like that? Like, you're some kind of object or tool to me? I don't get it." He said, taking the offered bottle and taking a swig. 

"Because that's what I am, aren't I? I'm just a stepping stone for all of you to shine with your hope." He said and laid down, opposite of Hajime so that their heads were on the same level.

"But what if I don't want that? For you to- help me shine or whatever. What if I just want to spend time with you?" Hajime asked carefully. This had been bothering him for a while now, and while he was terrified to say, it also felt sort of good, to be honest.  
"Is it really that difficult for you to believe that someone would like you for you?"

"I don't get why they'd like me." he shrugged and looked up at the parasol. The sun was straight above them now and Nagito silently thanked Hajime for bringing out a parasol. 

"Well, that's not unusual. I don't get why people like me either." Hajime replied lazily.  
"You just kinda- accept it, and you're grateful for it... I guess." He yawned again, and opened his eyes, looking up into the big blue sky. The picture-perfect sky, that was nothing like the grey, air polluted sky he was used to. "And you have to believe that they'll keep liking you. That takes trust. I think that's where you're struggling, Nagito."

"Why do you say so?" he wondered, turning to his side to look at Hajime. "How do I not trust you? I mean, I do, I have complete faith in all of you that you'll embody hope and do it fair."

"Really?" Hajime arched an eyebrow. "So when I say that I really care about you and would be horribly sad if you died, you believe me?" He sighed, leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken. (You sure didn't before.)

"I- Why?" he asked distressed over the fact that he didn't get something that seemed so obvious to him. "Why do you like me?"

"I- I don't know," Hajime said truthfully. "I think I always have though, ever since you first stayed with me at the beach. Even if I was- hurt (horribly betrayed and angry) after the first trial, it didn't change that." Hajime smiled fondly.  
"I don't know, being with you just felt- right, somehow."

"You have horrible taste in guys." Nagito laughed softly but decided to settle with that and closed his eyes and looked up at the sky. "Want a melon?"

"I disagree," Hajime said simply but reached out to take the slice of melon Nagito offered to him. He felt like they'd made some progress. Nagito was, at the very least, no longer denying his feelings, 

"What about Nekomaru?" Nagito asked and took a piece for himself. "Would you do him?"

"Would I what?!" Hajime said, sputtering in embarrassment. "God Nagito, don't say things like that so matter of factly!"

"Soda? I personally find his obsession with Sonia-san a bit off-putting."  
"There's a lack of spiky hair too." he grinned

Hajime groaned. "I don't know, Nagito. I mean, I only figured out I was gay like, two days ago. Not to mention, this is all incredibly new to me. Maybe they're just not my type. Do I even have a type?"  
He shook his head amusedly.  
"I can tell you that you're the only person who I've ever felt this strongly about though if that's what you're asking." 

Hajime felt like he should probably be embarrassed. I mean, that had practically been a love confession, right? But somehow he felt completely comfortable talking about this with Nagito. It felt like he wouldn't be judged, and that was incredibly comforting.

"Yeah, your type is trash." Nagito sniggered and took a bite of the watermelon. "I don't really like sweet things, but this is okay." 

"My type-" Hajime began, finishing the melon and grabbing a new piece, "Is pretty, intelligent, caring people who won't acknowledge my affection, apparently."

"So, trash." Nagito summarized and hoisted himself up on his elbows. "Should we grill tonight? Have an open fire and grill hot dogs? Or should we put up a frying table over an open fire and have this large-scale Korean bbq?" 

"You're not trash, Nagito," Hajime said but knew that the argument would go nowhere if he kept pushing.  
Nagito, for all his insistence that Hajime knew best, could be infuriatingly stubborn when he wanted to.  
"And I think both sound lovely though I'm not exactly the best in the kitchen, as you know."

"Both ways we'd let everyone else be in charge of their own cooking." he grinned. "We'd just have to find meat and veggies to grill. And a cooking tray for bonfires. I think I saw one in the old Building at the hotel. Teruteru used one." 

"Well then," Hajime stood and brushed his clothes free of sand. "Why don't we ask the other's what they think?" 

 

They invited everyone on the island and were met with positive responses. Chiaki was worried she might fall asleep, whilst Akane seemed elated at the prospect of food as always. Gundham for some reason demanded to know whether there'd be blood sacrifices, while Sonia seemed very excited and promised that everyone would be having fun, (with or without blood sacrifices, Hajime hoped.) 

He and Nagito spent a majority of the afternoon preparing for the party and the food, bringing out speakers from the Music venue with a little help from Monomi and placing blankets over the sand so they could sit comfortably. Soon, as the evening grew darker, the other students joined them and soon they were all having fun, playing a board game in the sand, except for Nagito who was tending to the food. (Trust me, you don't want me to play luck based games,) He's said.

"I don't know about you, but I want to see just how lucky Komaeda-san is," Chiaki told the others as she rolled her dice to win the board game- they really should've expected it. She was the ultimate gamer after all. 

Hajime laughed. "What do you mean, Chiaki?" He asked, as he begrudgingly put down his cards. She'd won five times in a row so far, though nobody really minded.  
"Yeah!" Souda agreed, happy to at least have gotten a higher score than Gundham. "I wanna see too! Can't we make him like, roll a specific number of dice or something"

"Komaeda-san! Would you mind coming over?" Sonia called over to the boy currently poking a stick in the fire who immediately perked up and came over.  
"Yeah, what can I do to help?" 

"We want to test your luck!" Chiaki said cheerfully. "Yeah man, come here," Souda said, handing him a die. "Throw... um, throw a six!" 

"Really? I'm so glad I could be of use to you." he smiled genuinely and crouched down, rolling the dice, of course rolling a six. "Boring, right?"

"Wooah!" Chiaki said, impressed. "Dude how did you do that?" Souda asked in disbelief.  
"Komaeda-san, please. Do that again, I insist!" Sonia said, looking up from where she'd been petting San-D (one of Gundam's "Four dark devas")

"I just trust my luck." he smiled and rolled again, just to get the same result. "and then it works out. I'm no fun to play games of luck with." he said, rolling again to get another six.  
"I so want to play Dungeons and Dragons with you," Chiaki said starry-eyed. 

"What manner of dark magic is this?" Gundham exclaimed as Nagito rolled five sixes in a row.  
"Seriously! This is insane!" Souda exclaimed, for once in agreement with Gundham. 

Nagito rolled once again before deciding to get back to grilling, for the first time getting a four.  
"Ah, I figured it was bound to turn sometime," he said, almost a little bit disappointed and got up.  
"I should get back to the teriyaki, I don't want to know what Akane might do if I burned the meat," he said and began walking away when a little hermit crab crawled up on the board.

Souda made to throw it off again, but Gundham caught his arms with a furious expression on his face. 

"You must not get in the way of this dark creature," He said, deliberately lowering his voice as to not scare the crab.  
Souda looked like he wanted to argue, but Sonia put her fingers to her lips. "Oh, it's so adorable!" She whispered, smiling at the crab.  
It continued it's pilgrimage right up onto the board, walking up to the die Nagito had just thrown. Just then, as the crab walked into the die, causing it to flip over to a 6, a muffled scream was heard from over by the grill

"Crap," Nagito muttered to himself as he curled up in a ball and blew on his hand and looked around for something to cool his hand off with, finding the cooler bag they had brought their drinks in and went over to see if they had ice for the minor burn he'd just gotten between his thumb and index finger. With his luck, it would most likely turn into a blister later. 

"Nagito, everything okay?" Hajime called to him from the blanket, getting up to see Nagito running toward the cooler bag. The other's looked after him, still laughing like mad about the flipped die. "I'll go check on him," Hajime said hurriedly, already getting up and getting jogging over to Nagito.  
"Hey, you okay Nagito?"

"Yeah, just a minor burn." He chuckled. "Could you bother to go check the food? I don't want to burn anything else but my hand. I'll put some aloe vera salve on it when we get back to the hotel." he promised and fished out an ice cube.

"Right, you're sure you're fine then?" He asked, going off to tend to the food once he'd gotten further reassurance from Nagito. Is this how Nagito's "luck cycles" work then? He asked himself. He'll be super lucky, but then he'll get the retribution. Hajime couldn't even imagine what living like that would feel like. 

"Yeah, I'm all good. I'll just take one of those that Tsumiki showed us before she went all The Shining on us," he said and returned to the grill with the pliers. 

Hajime ignored Nagito's comment. From what the other had told him, Nagito had all the right to despise Mikan.  
Instead, he took to helping Nagito with the cooking, the laughter of their classmates providing a good ambiance. "This was a really good idea, Nagito." He said happily, looking around at the festive beach.

"Yeah, I'm happy everyone is enjoying themselves. We could probably go for a swim too, the water should still be temperate from today," he said, digging his bare feet into the warm sand and flipped the broccoli and beef and rolled the bacon-wrapped asparagus. 

"Oh yeah, we did say we'd do that." Hajime agreed. Let's ask the other's if they want to go swimming after we've eaten he said, masterfully managing to flip a hamburger into the air. "Hey check it out Nagito!" He cheered.

"Skillful! Maybe you're the ultimate hamburger-flipper?" Nagito laughed, impressed by the others skills. "Did you work in a kitchen previous to this?" 

"Not really, my parents usually cooked and I'd reheat it whenever they couldn't make it home, which was most days. But I don't know much apart from simple meals." Hajime explained, frowning at the memories. "I've actually never made hamburgers before."

"The trick is lots of panko and some onions." Nagito smiled and treaded out of the sand just to dig his feet down again.

"HEY! When'll the food be done?" Akane shouted at them. Hajime smiled as she kicked a kung-fu kick at Nekomaru, who caught her with ease and threw her to the ground. "Keep your focus on your opponent!" He bellowed, laughing. "COME ON, AGAIN!"

"This is nice." Nagito hummed, watching over the remainder of their friend enjoy themselves at the beach. "Honestly, a lot of the food is done, the beef strips are ready to eat," he told Hajime. 

"I'm almost afraid to tell her," Hajime said with a knowing smile. Still, he called over the others who excitedly gathered around the food.  
"Man this is delicious!" Souda cheered, chewing happily on a beef strip.  
"I must agree. Well done Hinata-san and Komaeda-san." Sonia praised, smiling brightly.  
"Oh, it's all him, I'm basically just in the way!" Hajime joked.

"You were very helpful, Hajime!" Nagito protested, not picking up on the fact that it was a joke. "He flipped a hamburger in the air, I'm predicting a future CEO of a fast food company."

Hajime blushed. "You say that like it's a major achievement, Nagito."  
"Of-mph course it-mph is!" Akane said between bites. She swallowed an entire hamburger in one giant bite and continued, "You can cook hamburgers! That's like a necessary talent to live!"

"We brought more meat and chopsticks for everyone in case you want to grill more for yourselves," Nagito informed them and pointed to the bag they'd brought. "There are marshmallows in there too."

"Not that we'd need them," Hajime teased. "Your hair is practically a marshmallow, right?" He laughed, looking at Nagito over the dim light of the fire. The light highlighted his gray eyes and pale skin, making him look almost otherworldly. Hajime sighed, he really was too pretty for his own good. 

"Sap," Nagito mumbled and ate a grilled bell pepper with cheese, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. "In that case, you look like a sea urchin. Or a hedgehog." 

"I'm alright with that. My spikes will defend you from harm!" He joked, and Nagito choked on his pepper.  
Chiaki, who'd overheard their conversation giggled. "You have quite a few JRPG protagonists you can battle, Hinata," She said.

"What about you? Would you be one of the quest-masters, Nanami?" Nagito asked politely. "If Hajime was a warrior and I one of those annoying side characters?" 

Chiaki laughed so hard she dropped her bottle of Panta, which luckily was closed.  
"No way Komaeda, if Hajime is a warrior then you're the mysterious rival that everyone ships him with!." She managed between giggles, clutching her stomach.

"Do I have superpowers?" Nagito asked, indulging in her "fantasy".

 

Chiaki thought for a moment. "That depends... if Hinata has them, then you'll have better superpowers than him. Or maybe you'll have a friendly rivalry..." 

"You are thinking way too much about this..:" Hajime said.

"Hajime's superpowers would be flipping burgers and plot armor." Nagito joked. "Do you want to test your warrior skills after the fire has died a bit on the watermelon? There should be a bat in the beach house."

"Hmm, No thanks," Hajime said, taking a swig of Panta as he prepared his rebuttal. "You wouldn't even need Plot armor, you'd take down all your enemies with the power of adorableness and marshmallows."  
Chiaki mouthed something at Sonia, but Hajime didn't catch what.

"Shut up and eat more." Nagito smiled and took one of his grilled veggies and put it on Hajime's plate.

Hajime ate it in one bite, demonstratively. He quickly regretted that. "Holy shit that's hot!" He choked, wiping the tears from his eyes. He coughed, downing half his bottle of Panta in seconds. 

"Hold on." Nagito hurried over and fetched an ice cube. "Say ah," he said as he returned with it in his hand

"Don't you dare!" Hajime protested, wrestling his hand away from his face. "Leave me to suffer in peace!"

"Maybe we'll have to put some of that burn salve in your mouth." Nagito teased, putting the ice cube on Hinata's plate.

"No thanks," Hajime said, throwing the ice cube in the sand. He drank the last of his Panta and put his now clean plate on the ground. Looking out over the water, he noted that the sun was going down. "If you wanted to swim, we should probably do it while we have some natural light," he suggested.

"Yeah." he agreed but waited for Hajime to take off his shirt first, still doubting if he should do it or not, considering all of the gross bruises and how insecure about his body he was. "Let's go?" he said, deciding against taking off his tank top. He'd brought a spare change of clothes anyway.

"Nagito, you do realize we need to change, right?" Hajime said amusedly. "Come on, there should be bathing suits in the beach house, even if we'll have to change in the diner."

"I wonder why we can't change in the beach house." he hummed, finishing the food on his plate.

"Monokuma's stupid rules, that's why," Hajime said. "Like really, there are separate changing rooms for a reason." 

They walked together to the beach house, since the others had engaged in yet another round of board games and Chiaki thought they "might want some time alone" or whatever.

"I don't think I want to swim without my tank top," Nagito told Hajime as they walked side by side up to the beach house.

"Oh, well sure. did you bring other clothes?" He asked as they walked. He wondered why Nagito didn't want to take off his shirt but didn't want to pry.

"Yeah, I figured something like this might happen, and I don't want to disgust anyone with the bruises," he explained. "Let's go find swim trunks then."

"Nagito you-you're not disgusting, with or without bruises," Hajime said firmly. "But if you're not comfortable, then that's... You know. That's fine." He trailed off. He still hadn't figured out how to deal with Nagito's bouts of self-deprecation.

"Plus I look like a skeleton that has come back from the dead. Talk about a haunting image." he joked, not sure whether the mood was still playful or not.

"That's just not true," Hajime said, crossing his arms. At Nagito's challenging expression, he continued "Nagito you are literally the prettiest person I know. Seriously."

"You know Sonia and Nanami. And Akane. None of them have cancer that detoriates their bodies. They're much prettier. But it's not a competition. And I don't mind being there to enhance their beauty." he said softly. "Do you think they have swim trunks in the storage room?"

Hajime pulled open the door to the beach house, and they went inside. He looked sadly at Nagito, wanting to assure him that he was wrong, but not knowing how. Then he got an idea, one that made his heart thump in his chest and his cheeks turn bright red in the dim light.  
"Nagito- um, feel free to push me away or something like that if this is too much, okay?" He said. Then he stepped closer, slowly leaning in, trying to convince himself that he could do this, and pressed his lips to Nagito's

It took the cloud haired boy a few moments to register what was happening before he realized and exploded into a red stuttering mess, letting out a little squeak.

Hajime placed his hands on his shoulders steadying the other. He was pretty sure he had died and gone to heaven and if not, the quick pace his heart was beating at sure would soon. Kissing Nagito Komaeda was everything he'd dreamt and more. Eventually, though, Hajime had to break the kiss. He took a deep breath and half whispered, having suddenly forgotten how talking worked from that incredible experience, "You think I'd do that to Sonia, Chiaki or Akane?" He smiled brightly.

"I- I- I dunno! You tell me!" He sputtered, still surprised and as dusted red as humanly possible.

Well, that fell flat on its face. "Nagito, you do know I'm gay, right?" Hajime said, smirking at Nagito's flushed face and stuttering responses.

"You might have mentioned it," he said, covering his mouth. "Can you do it again?" he asked incredibly quiet.

Hajime smiled and leaned in for another kiss. "I'll do it as much as you want" He whispered, or rather he wanted to.  
In reality, what happened was more along the lines of the sentence breaking into shambles as soon as his lips touched Nagito's because holy shit kissing him was like the most powerful drug on the planet and Hajime never ever wanted to stop.

This time Nagito was more prepared but most of all more cooperative, kissing him back. "Holy hope-" he whispered as they separated again.  
"So, swimsuits!" he exclaimed, brain short-circuiting as he had absolutely no idea what to say do or how to react.

Hajime chuckled. "Right." Then he stopped himself, worry contaminating the ecstasy in his chest. He had to make certain. "Hey Nagito, can we... Talk a little first. Please, I need to know that you- (that you wanted this and isn't just pretending because you think you're trash or that your opinion doesn't matter or-) -that you enjoyed that as much as I did."

"Are you kidding me?" Nagito asked voice high pitched as he was yet processing the whole thing. "I'm so happy I might die, here, feel." He said, talking fast and took Hajime's hand and placed it over his heart.  
"I just can't- I can't grasp what just happened." he laughed, covering his mouth."To Think- that you, Hajime-"

Hajime felt Nagito's racing heart beneath his palm and suddenly all the worry dissipated. Nagito really had liked it, as much as he had. The reality of the situation suddenly set in. He'd kissed Nagito Komaeda.  
He'd kissed him, and he'd liked it.  
"T-that's, I'm so glad. I'm really, really glad," Hajime said putting his arms around Nagito and pulling him into an embrace.

(Ah what the hell. He'd already doomed Hajime. He should just enjoy the time he had left with him.) Nagito thought as Hajime wrapped his arms around Nagito and decided then and there to hug him back.

"So you'd like to do this again?" Hajime said, still somewhat insecure. "Like, many times again?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do, I should enjoy it for as long as possible Before you're doomed to some horrible end," he said, burying his face in his shoulder

"I told you I'd never leave you, didn't I?" Hajime said, hugging Nagito tighter. "So don't worry so much, okay? Come on, let's go find swimming trunks." He held Nagito's hand as they picked out a pair of swimming trunks, and then walked together to the diner to change in the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ladies and gentlemen: We're 15 chapters in, over 55000 words and we've finally, finally actually got some romance!  
> Yaaay?  
> Yaaay!


	16. From despairful angst to fish facts, a jorney with Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit on the longer side, mostly due to the fact that there probably won't be a chapter for the coming 6 days. Sorry guys, but we hope you'll stick around anyway!
> 
> Once again, thank everyone here for reading, leaving kudos and if you've commented then you're officially the best person. Thanks, guys!

Nagito's heart raced as they returned to the beach, feeling like it was obvious what they had just been doing. It was much darker than when they left but as soon as they rounded the corner of the beach house they were greeted by a vibrant sunset and several of their classmates already in the water, as most of them had been wearing them underneath their clothes.

"Hey, Hinata and Komaeda! Come join us, the water's warm!" Souda greeted. Chiaki and Sonia waved as well, and Hajime waved back. "We never got to do this before, huh?" He said, stepping up to the water bank and dipping his toes. "Aah- cold!"

"Last one in!" Nagito called, on the other hand, letting go of Hajime's and rushed out into the lukewarm water, shrieking from the cold as he fell headfirst and popped his head back up laughing. He was happy, and damn it if he wasn't going to enjoy it, just for this once. If the Ultimates were annoyed they could just tell him.

Hajime ran after, completely elated at seeing Nagito so happy and carefree. A part of him wondered whether he'd had a part in it, and that thought filled his chest with so much warmth he felt lightheaded. "I swear to God your hair has its own laws of gravity!" He laughed, noting how Nagito's curls still remained fluffy, even though they were soaking wet.

"Hey, Hajime, I Think we waited too long to swim." he chuckled, spitting out some salt water. "Hi, Nanami."

Chiaki waved and went back to floating on her back like she'd been doing previously.   
Hope she doesn't fall asleep, Hajime thought fondly.  
He threw himself in the water, swimming a couple of strokes and relishing in the cold water against his warm body. "Hey, Nagito! Catch me!" he yelled, running through the water as fast as he could.

"Hajime- wait!" Nagito called out, bracing himself for impact.

"Come on Nagito!"   
Hajime turned around to look at his friend(boyfriend?). He didn't look ahead and consequently didn't see that he placed his foot on a slippery rock, instead of the sand he'd been running on thus far. As he felt his balance slipping, his face went through expressions of surprise, terror to embarrassment in a matter of seconds.   
Hajime fell backward, limbs flailing as his head broke the surface of the water and he got a mouthful of seawater. He flailed desperately, all the air knocked out of his lungs and his body suffering too much panic to react and get him back on his feet.

"Hajime?!" Nagito immediately slipped out of his happy little bubble of bliss as he watched Hajime disappear under the surface, followed by a concerning stream of bubbles. He got up and trudged as fast as he could through the heavy water to get to his friend(?).

Hajime's back hit the ocean floor with a thud, the impact causing sand to stir into the currents. He felt something sharp against the back of his forearm but was distracted by the mouthful of sandy water he was forced to swallow and tried desperately to get his feet back on the ocean floor, arms grabbing towards the surface of the water. 

"Hajime!" Nagito was up by the boy by now reaching down for him, heart lurching as he was pulled down by frantic hands. Despite this, he managed to hold his ground and pull Hajime out of the water. "What happened?"

Hajime tried to answer, but when he opened his mouth he threw up a mouthful of seawater instead. He coughed, standing on his knees and elbows as he coughed up seawater until his lungs burned. Afterward, he stood on trembling limbs, gasping for air and digging his palms into the warm sand. Only now did he hear Nagito's panicked words, but he was too out of breath to answer.

 

"You shouldn't have done that," Nagito said, worry and regret thick in his voice as he stroked his back.  
"Feeling better?"

"Y-you think?" Hajime snapped, trying to clear his throat. He coughed again, his entire body trembling. Slowly he began to take deep breaths, falling down into the wet sand on his back as his body stopped shaking. 

 

"What happened to your arm?" Nagito asked, his stomach turning in his gut, the water making the cut seem worse than it actually was.   
"You shouldn't have, I shouldn't have let you."

"Komaeda could you, like, back up a little?" Hajime asked, the shock momentarily making him forget to call Nagito by his first name. He hugged his arms around himself, blinking to get the sea water out of his eyes and shivering despite the heat. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I can't believe I overstepped, of course, you wouldn't want me near." he chuckled to himself and backed down and away and went to go fetch his clothes to go change and return to the hotel. He'd been in the way of the Ultimates too much, and now he'd gotten too selfish and they had naturally rejected him. It was bound to happen sometime. He was simply too annoying and bothersome to be around

Hajime retched again, pulling his hand through his hair to get it away from his eyes. He looked up, momentarily blinded by the harsh sunlight of the beach, as his gaze landed on Nagito, who was walking away from the water. He coughed, remembering how he'd snapped at the other before for no reason.   
"Nagito wait! I'm sorry!" He said, struggling to his feet and stumbled after his friend.

He already revealed what he thought, he's just being compassionate, Nagito repeated to himself, he's just pitying you, he doesn't really feel for you, he's probably not even gay. I'm sure he's actually got a thing for Chiaki.  
Nagito kept walking through the heavy sand up to the blanket where he'd left his jacket and spare clothes. 

"Nagito!" Hajime panted, running after the other. He grabbed ahold of Nagito's arm as he reached the other, forcing him to stop. "Dammit Nagito, why'd you run off like that?" He asked, still hugging himself to warm his wet skin.

"You didn't want me around and I was just a bother to you, I overstayed my welcome," he said with a smile as if nothing was wrong. "So I'm going back to the hotel unless you want me to clean up first?"

"No, that wasn't- Look, I was just confused and shocked, okay? I didn't mean any of it." Hajime said, trying to be reassuring.   
"Listen I *just* confessed to you, didn't I? Do you really think I'd want you gone after that?"

"If the confession wasn't real and out of pity, then yes. It would make much more sense too," he said with no malice in his voice as he packed his things. "I'm terribly sorry if garbage like me is overstepping their boundaries, but you should check your arm," he said quietly and rolled his shirt up to take less space

Hajime's stomach sank. "Nagito why are you doing this? You promised me you enjoyed that as much as I did. Please don't tell me you lied and that I forced myself on you," He said. He truly didn't understand why Nagito'd come to that conclusion. Did he really trust Hajime so little, did he really think he was capable of something so despicable as faking a confession out of pity.

"No, I enjoyed it very much-" he said, his cheeks beginning to heat up as he remembered the incident but recollected himself rather quickly. "-but look at your arm and see how it ends up. If we keep going you're going to end up bleeding out in a fire, hanged by your own guts," he explained vividly. "It was a little kiss and you already carve up your arm."

Hajime glanced at his forearm. "Oh- I didn't even notice that. Nagito this is barely a scratch. It looks much worse than it is, trust me." He reassured the other, stepping closer and grabbing his hands.  
"So then, since you enjoyed that, can I do it again?"

"No, you'll just end up killing yourself." Nagito protested, shaking his head, "You almost droẃned just because you got close to me, if you died I don't know what I'd do with myself," he laughed, deranged but didn't pull back his hands. "Imagine what horrid things might happen if you kept engaging-"

Oh, so that's what he was so afraid of. Hajime sighed. "Nagito listen, that wasn't a random accident caused by your luck or anything, I just fell. It was my fault for being careless and not looking where I was going, okay? Honestly, I was thinking about you, and not even aware of my surroundings at all." He blushed, and gave a comforting smile." Accidents happen, Nagito. That's all it was. "

"No, you might think that but that's how it works!" he exclaimed distressed. "Just like how my dog died, accidents happen, but they happen because of my bad luck!" 

"Nagito hear me out," Hajime said, unsure how to convince the other. To him, it felt like Nagito was blowing everything out of proportion. He hadn't even been hurt, after all.   
"Listen, I have a scar on the inside of my left cheek. Right here," He pointed to his cheek.   
"You wanna know how I got it?"

"...How?" he asked skeptically, not sure how it would prove him wrong. 

Hajime laughed sheepishly. "Well the people at my daycare had left me unsupervised, think I was around three years old? Anyway, my dumbass self decided to see if staplers were edible." He laughed, trying to ease the tension. "It... didn't go so well."   
"Anyway. What I'm getting at is this, maybe there was some karmic greater power that orchestrated my suddenly wanting to taste test staplers, but I find it much more likely that it was an accident. Like, three-year-olds aren't exactly known for their immense self-preservation, right? Well, neither are teenagers know for their body coordination. You're reading too much into this Nagito, I know it." 

"Now we know why your parents are so disappointed in you. Have you eaten any staples lately, Hinata-kun?" Nagito attempted to joke.

Hajime laughed, despite the words stimulating an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. Nagito's words about his parents stung, despite the other probably not meaning to be hurtful. Still, he was relieved to see Nagito cheer up, even if it was just a little.   
"Hmm, why don't you make sure?" Hajime said, hazarding a peck on Nagito's lips. He wanted to make certain he wanted it though, so he kept his face close to Nagito's, waiting for the other to make a move.

"I'm still not sure if this is safe." he murmured but closed the gap between them anyway. "We should still get the cut on your arms washed. We don't know what bacteria there are in these waters."

"I'll be fine. I promise to be more careful from now on, okay?" Hajime said. He inspected the cut on his forearm. "Yeah, I'll head to the apothecary and treat this. You can stay and enjoy the party if you want. The others are still swimming after all."

"It's fine, they don't want me here either. I'll just go back to my room." he murmured with a smile and reassembled his stuff. 

"I- um." Hajime didn't want Nagito to go back by himself, it didn't feel right. It felt like the other was slipping away from him again, and just when Hajime's thought they had made a connection. Nagito smiled dejectedly, looking at the ground, and Hajime just wanted to hug him.  
"Hey Nagito, how about you come with me then? I mean, that way you can make sure no more accidents occur, right?" Hajime proposed.

"I'm sure I'd just be in your way, don't worry about upsetting me because you don't want to be around me, you're kind enough to even talk to trash like me." Nagito declined, reaching for the towel he'd brought and laid it over his hair. 

"Okay.." Hajime said somewhat dejectedly. He'd kind of wanted Nagito's company if he were completely honest.  
"Can I at least stop by your cottage before I go to bed tonight?" He asked, trying to keep the longing out of his voice

"if you want to. I'll leave the door unlocked for you." Nagito promised. "Be careful, who knows what horrible things are awaiting you now that you've talked to me."

"I'll be careful, I promise," Hajime said to placate the other, turning and beginning the quiet, dark walk toward the 3rd Island. Bandaging his would was easy, since it really wasn't that deep and most of the blood was easily washed away. After he was done, he headed towards the cottages, intending to stop by Nagito's before bed.

In his cottage, Nagito had washed off the salt water. He never should've indulged himself, nothing good ever came out of it. He was now dressed in a fresh pair of underwear and the shirt he'd gotten to borrow from Hajime. He'd promised himself he'd wash it tomorrow. He browsed his own bookcase, finding the book he'd been reading earlier and slumped down on his bed with the book. At least here he didn't have anyone he loved with him so they could get hurt.

A short while later, a knock sounded on Nagito's door. Hajime waited for a couple seconds, then he knocked again, shouting. "Nagito! Please open the door, it's me, Hajime!

Nagito woke up from his book and flipped it over and went to open the door when he remembered that he was wearing Hajime's shirt, but he'd already begun opening the door so he did what any sane person would do and pulled it off.  
In hindsight that probably hadn't been the smartest decision, he'd made in his life.

"Nagito- Hey!" Hajime said, backing up at seeing Nagito open the door completely shirtless. He'd seen Nagito shirtless before, of course, but he'd never actually had the time to appreciate it.   
God, he looked good, his beautiful pale skin and firm chest making the blood rush to Hajime's face.   
"Wow- yeah. Hey." He said, momentarily forgetting how words worked.

"Hi, I was just reading- wanna join?" Yes Nagito, I'm sure Hajime was interested in joining you in the middle of a book about racial problems in America.

"I- Yeah sure, um just-" Hajime regained his composure slowly, clearing his throat.   
"Nagito why- are you shirtless?"

"Ah-I was in the middle of changing but I forgot because I got so caught up in the book," he said, giving probably the lamest excuse in history.

Hajime chuckled, yeah that sounded like Nagito. Then his gaze fell on a crumpled piece of grey fabric on the floor behind Nagito. "Hey is that- is that my shirt?" He asked confused. Then he realized what had happened and started to giggle.   
"You didn't want me to see you wearing it, huh?" He said teasingly. 

"I'm sorry, I promised you that I'd wash it. Not only am I selfish but I'm dishonest, scum like me should just perish," he said, cursing at himself as he picked it up and folded it neatly as he closed the door behind Hajime.

What?? "Nagito hey!" Hajime said, pulling the door open again. "I'm not mad at you Nagito. If anything I'm kind of- you know. Seeing you wearing my clothes is kind of hot." He cleared his throat, blushing furiously. "Anyway, can I come in? Please?"

"... Yeah," he said and let him in, willing to put on the shirt again. "Come in."

Hajime stepped into Nagito's cottage. It looked unchanged from before, the only addition being "To Kill a Mockingbird" now being stacked among the books on Nagito's shelf.   
"Listen, I kind of wanted to talk to you about... before. Is that okay?" He started, wanting to clear this up now. Hajime wanted nothing more than to pick up where they'd left off, but Nagito seemingly didn't want to let him in, despite his best efforts. 

"Yeah, I'll listen." he agreed and put the shirt back on. "Go ahead and sit down if you want to." he offered.

Hajime smiled at the sight of Nagito in his grey shirt. "Well, I guess I was wondering... was it just a one-time thing? Do you want to pretend like it didn't happen? Because I-" He quieted, feeling despair wash over him at the thought of ignoring this days event. That kiss might be the best memory Hajime had, and he didn't want to pretend like it had been nothing.

"It's up to you, if you want to forget about it then so will I," Nagito said, his heart breaking at the words and their implications.

Hajime sighed in exhasperation. He should have anticipated a response like this. "Nagito, please. I'm asking you for your opinion. This doesn't feel right if I'm not certain you want it." He sat down heavily on the edge of Nagito's bed, awaiting his verdict.

"I wanted it. I liked it. But you saw how just a kiss got you." he said anxiously as if a meteor would fall and kill them instantly.

Hajime looked at him for a moment, noting the trepidation, fear, and anticipation in the other's gaze. Did he see flickers of happiness too, or was he deceiving himself? They sat in silence, nothing disturbing the peace. After a moment, Hajime grabbed Nagito's pale hands.  
"See? Nothing happened, right? No freak accidents, no nothing. No karmic retribution."

"I'll trust you on this one this time. But if we keep doing this I will be going to rocket punch market and make you a protective suit of mattress," he said and allowed himself to enjoy Hajime's company for as long as the other wanted it.

Hajime laughed. "If I can do this-" He pecked Nagito's cheek, "I think I can deal with that." He leaned his head on Nagito's shoulder, feeling happier and more hopeful than he had in a long time.

"I'll be able to live with that." Nagito smiled. "As long as it doesn't get it the way for you to show your remarkable hope. I think the one with the prettiest hope is you, Hajime."

Hajime hummed. "Hey Nagito, when you say hope, what do you mean? I get the feeling it's more than a lofty ideal to you." He'd actually been wanting to know for a while now, and he figured now was as good a time as any to get an explanation.

"Hope to me? Hope is.. Hope I'd say is the ultimate good. With hope, you can go through anything, no matter what." he said with a hazy romantic gaze. "Who knows, maybe ultimate hope could even allow me to overcome the luck cycles," he said, his heart stirring.

Hajime was surprised to hear his response. It sounded...plausible in a way. Much less deranged than Nagito tried to make it appear. In the end, Nagito was just looking to end the anguish he'd had to live with all his life, and that made Hajime's heart ache with sympathy for him. "So that's what you clung to, huh? Even through all that tragedy, you believed you could end it all with the Ultimate hope." Hajime mumbled, pressing himself to Nagito a bit tighter.

"Maybe not end it, but it'd be much more bearable with hope. But yes, end it," he said, back aching a little from how ha sat so he made the daring decision to lay down on his bed.

Hajime fell down with him, landing partly on his chest. He had no plans of moving either, the feeling of Nagito's warm chest under his head was comfortable. "Hmm... I hope you'll find your Ultimate Hope some day. You don't deserve to always live in fear of tragedy." He winced as he accidentally put pressure on his newly bandaged wound.

"How's your arm that totally wasn't my lucks fault?" he asked, a bit sarcastic as he looked over to Hajime.

Hajime held it up to show Nagito the wrapped cut. "It's perfectly fine, and it wasn't your fault at all." He said, determined to prove Nagito wrong. "I mean, it's not like I haven't ever gotten injured before I met you. These things happen."

"The timing of this is just off. You just can't see it because you haven't been around too much." he murmured and inspected it. "Isn't this the third time you've been about to die from asphyxiation since you began to get chummy with me?"

"Nagito, you can't possibly blame yourself over what Tsumiki did. You heard her, apparently, she remembered me having ruined a plan of" her beloved" or whatever- which by the way probably was a good thing. But anyway, that would have happened before this island. We didn't even know each other then. It's impossible for that to have been your fault so stop blaming yourself." He said.

"But what if she'd gotten another despair disease?" Nagito argued. "She could've gotten anything else. And if she hadn't you wouldn't have been almost killed twice." he frowned, turning to his side and watching Hajime.

"Nagito, I don't know this for sure but I think Monokuma's intention all along was to give Tsumiki despair disease. I mean think about it. Neither compliance, fear, lying or whatever I got is enough to inspire a murder, right? So the motive would have been entirely ineffective, had Tsumiki not gotten the remembering disease

There was a beat of silence before Nagito sighed, closing his eyes. "Who knows? Still making you wear a helmet whenever wherever."

He still wouldn't listen and Hajime thought his words were too reminiscent of the defeat he always showed when Hiyoko teased him, or Souda called him a crazy person. He didn't want Nagito's quiet complacency, he wanted his understanding. "Nagito please, how can I convince you?" He asked

"By not getting killed," he said, curling up, head against Hajime's chest. "By not getting a horrible, gory death."

Hajime put his arms around the other, gently carding through his white, soft locks. "I can certainly do that. You'll see. I won't leave you, Nagito."

"No freak accidents either, no sacrificing yourself to protect someone you love from dying." he continued.  
"Sacrificing yourself is just stupid anyway. Because it is much worse to live with the loss of the one who sacrificed themselves instead of just dying together."

Hajime sighed. "I promise to be more careful, but Nagito you can't ask me to not protect you, or anyone I love. I can't promise something like that if you- or my parents-" Hajime's voice quieted. No, that wouldn't happen. His parents and friends were fine. Why shouldn't they be?

"I just don't want to die alone..." Nagito whispered, hugging himself as he breathed in Hajime's warmth and scent.

Hajime's grip around the other tightened as he pressed a comforting kiss to his brow. "You won't. I'll never leave you. We'll get out of this together, Nagito. Just have some hope."

Nagito let out a chuckle. "Yeah. I just have to believe in hope, don't I?" he asked with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Exactly. That's it." Hajime said, relieved that Nagito sounded a bit calmer than before. They lay there until they forgot the time, only coming back to reality when the Monokuma announcement reminded them how late it'd gotten. "You want me to stay here tonight?" Hajime asked gently, looking down at Nagito's half-shut eyes and dreamy smile.

"I wouldn't mind," he admitted, the gentle sound of the waves crashing along with Hajime's calm breathing making him extremely sleepy.

Hajime nodded slowly. "Would it make you uncomfortable if I slept without nightclothes?" He asked, not knowing if Nagito's opinion might have changed since the kiss. Sleeping together with your... Well, he wasn't entirely sure what they were, to be honest, boyfriends? Well, in any case, it carried implications. And Hajime didn't know how comfortable Nagito was with any of that yet.

"Ah, you should do what you feel comfortable with," he said with an innocent smile to hide how uncomfortable he was with the implications that came with the request.

Hajime took a deep breath. "Nagito, I'm not asking about what I'm comfortable with. I'm asking you." He carded his hand through Nagito's hair slowly, as if trying to coax him into answering. "Doing something that would make you uncomfortable would make me uncomfortable too, you get that?"

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to sleep how you usually do and if that would make you feel more relaxed and happier," he said with a slightly displeased smile.

Hajime nodded carefully. "Okay, if you say so." He reached to take off his tie. "But we're not like- doing anything tonight. Just sleeping, okay?" He said, face reddening as he imagined what kind of "stuff" they could be doing. Or maybe would be doing at a later date.

"Yeah.." Nagito said solemnly but laid out the folded blanket over the bed and closed his eyes. "It's just sleeping." he murmured to himself to calm down.

Hajime unbuttoned his shirt and pulled off his pants, putting them in a kinda neat pile (he hoped) by Nagito's bed. They looked completely out of place in Nagito's neat cabin. "I'll uh, take care of that later." He said apologetically, completely missing Nagito's strange behavior.

"It's fine, I don't mind," Nagito repeated with a strained smile towards Hajime and scooted further towards the wall so that Hajime would fit too.

"You're sure you're comfortable?" Hajime said, doubt creeping into his voice. Nagito had gone very quiet suddenly, and he was getting a distinct "You're the Ultimate. I'll trust you" vibe from him. "Look Nagito, please don't lie to me. I'll feel awful otherwise."

"Yeah, it's okay. It's just sleeping, isn't it?" he asked, voice breaking a bit. "We'll be okay.

"Nagito seriously, if you don't want to do this, we won't. I can leave, or put on clothes or whatever but you do not look okay. Please don't fight me on this, just tell me what you're worried about!"  
Hajime wracked his brain. It was pretty obvious that Nagito probably hadn't had that much prior sexual experience, but this seemed to go way beyond simple nervousness. It wasn't like Hajime had been very active prior to this either, after all, so he should be just as nervous. Was he still scared because of before? It didn't seem like it. Whatever it was, Hajime was awful at reading the other, so he had to hope he could coax the truth out of Nagito somehow.

"No, it's okay, just go to bed already," he said sternly and rolled over to his other side. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

Hajime was far from convinced, but Nagito was glaring at him impatiently and he knew that nothing good would come of it if he kept pushing. He sighed and got into bed, climbing under the covers. "Good night then, Nagito." He said, reaching out his hand for the other to hold like before.

"Yeah, good night," he said quietly and turned to the wall. His heart felt like it was throbbing in his throat and his blood rushed through his ears. He felt like he was choking or was about to vomit as his head raced back to the past he could remember.

Hajime looked at his empty hand worriedly. He tried to tell himself that Nagito wasn't avoiding him, he was probably just tired, or he hadn't seen him or- he squeezed his eyes shut, and he could almost pretend that everything was alright. That Nagito wasn't shutting him out. Then he moved his hand, and it grazed against Nagito's clothed back.

Nagito jolted at the sudden touch and he let out a small terrified noise before snapping back to reality

Nagito's terrified yelp was like a stab in the heart to Hajime. "Nagito, I don't know what's wrong, but if you don't tell me I'm leaving. You aren't comfortable with me here, and I can't rest either." He said, perhaps a little harsher than necessary.

"I'm sorry, I'll be okay," he said, turning over to face him that everything was alright. "I'm okay, I just need to breathe," he said, sitting up hastily to go outside.

"Nagito please, let me in," Hajime said, looking at the other's barely put together smile. "If you don't want me to know the reason, at least tell me what I can do to make you more comfortable." He sat up on the bed, pulling his knees to his chest and giving Nagito as much space as possible.

"Yeah- I just have to breathe, I'm sorry, I'll be right with you," he promised and got out of bed to go outside.  
"I'm really sorry, Hajime." he wheezed and almost threw up the door.

Hajime watched as Nagito left the room, stumbling out of the cabin. He desperately wanted to go after him, but he didn't if that would make the situation worse. After all, Nagito had acted skittish around him ever since they decided to sleep together, and Hajime couldn't fathom another reason than his presence making Nagito uncomfortable. He probably didn't want to say anything because he didn't want to hurt Hajime, his precious Ultimate.   
At Nagito's words, his dark thoughts melted away. Even if Nagito couldn't stand to be near him, the least he could do was comfort him. "It's okay Nagito, take your time." He said, hoping the words came out comforting and not condescending.

 

Nagito rushed outside, trembling from the rather unpleasant memories which came flooding back. He sat down on the edge of the boardwalk and hugged himself.  
Around ten minutes later of calming down he was fit enough to return to Hajime's side.  
"I- I'm sorry about that, I'll explain in a minute," he said quietly.

"I'm really sorry Nagito, I don't know if it was the kisses or trying to hold your hand or just- me, but I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable." He smiled wryly. "You don't need to explain, I figured it out." He said, standing up and picking up his clothes, cradling them to his chest. "I'll leave, don't worry. I know you didn't want to hurt my feelings so-"

"No- no, it's not your fault, Hajime, it's not your fault, when I was-" his throat choked up and tears threatened to appear. "Please, believe me, it's not your fault."

Hajime's emotions whiplashed. What did Nagito mean it wasn't his fault? But, why else would Nagito act like this? Hajime gently placed his folded clothes on the bed and sat down next to Nagito again. "Okay, if you say it isn't I believe you." He said slowly. He didn't think Nagito was lying, not when he sounded so desperate to be believed.   
"But please Nagito, what's making you so uncomfortable? How can I fix it? I-I hate seeing you like this so please-"

Nagito took a deep breath. It was now or never. Who knew if Hajime would even be alive tomorrow? Did he really want to hear something like this?  
Whatever, he had to tell him now, it was that or lie.

"Remember that I was kidnapped?" he finally said with a defeated sigh.

Hajime remembered clearly, the fear and anguish in Nagito's expression had been impossible to forget. "Yes, yes I do."

"I was held captive for at least two weeks before I could escape. During that time-" his voice cut off again and it felt like the walls were closing in on him. "During that time he-he did things."

Hajime's eyes widened. Surely Nagito didn't mean- but looking at his terrified expression, his arms wrapped around himself, too tight to be painless. Hajime scrambled to throw on his clothes, pretty sure he ripped the fabric of his shirt in the process. "Oh god, I'm sorry. This must have been awful for you," He said panicked.

"It's fine Hajime! It was a long time ago, I'm fine now and you didn't know," he said. "Please don't blame yourself, Hajime," Nagito said frantically. He never should've told Hajime, he'd just caused him guilt and despair even though he only wished for the opposite. But "Ultimate hope always arises from the deepest despair." he reminded himself.

"Nagito you-" Hajime looked at the other in disbelief. He'd been through something so terrible, yet Hajime was the one panicking. "Nagito, I know that it's not fine. That's okay. But please trust me when I say you won't be hurt like that ever again. I'll protect you, okay?" He'd been embarrassed to say something like that before, but he felt very differently now. He wanted to keep Nagito safe, no matter what it took. He'd been through so much already, Hajime wanted nothing more than to soothe his pain.

"It's okay Hajime, it was a long time ago, I'm okay," he said softly. "You didn't hurt me, I'm okay." he said and offered his hand to hold.

Hajime wasn't convinced, but he dropped it, taking Nagito's hand and gripping in tightly. "Okay," He said. "But tell me, please, what was it that made you uncomfortable? Was it me being here? Please be honest, I won't be mad."

"I think it was the implications.." He said quietly. "Or a combination. I'm really tired, can we go to bed?"

"You want me to stay then?" Hajime asked, slowly getting a better grasp of the situation.

"Yeah, it was nice to sleep with you," he mumbled with a soft smile.

Hajime nodded. He was only half dressed, not having buttoned his shirt, and sleeping in his clothes would probably be uncomfortable, but he didn't mind. Instead, he pulled Nagito close and lied down, pulling the covers over both of them.

"I have pajamas if you need to borrow," he told him, figuring that sleeping in jeans might be uncomfortable, but enjoyed the hug anyway.

"O-oh, right," Hajime said, somewhat embarrassed. Deciding to get out of bed, leaving the comfortable warmth and Nagito behind, was a tough decision, but Hajime stood anyway, hurriedly putting on pajamas. Afterward, he climbed back into bed, relishing in the comfortable warmth of Nagito's body against his own as the other leaned his head on Hajime's chest.

"Don't die tonight," he told him softly and fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves and Hajime's soft breathing

Hajime fell asleep shortly thereafter, but his rest wasn't nearly as peaceful. He dreamt about Tsumiki wrapping her hands around his neck, that shifting to the sound of Nagito crying from the beach house as Hajime's mouth and nose filled with water and-  
It was still dark out as he jolted awake, bathing in sweat and trembling.

Nagito slept peacefully as Hajime restlessly turned in his sleep, his arm thrown over Hajime's waist, but as the other jolted awake in cold sweat Nagito was drawn out of his slumber with a little groan. "...Hajime?"

Hajime's hands flew to his neck, as he panted desperately, feeling that same horrible tightness from during the 3rd trial. His entire body shook as he recalled the crazed look in Tsumiki's eyes, her deranged words and long nails digging into his skin. He'd thought he was over this, over the fear that she'd created, but apparently, he'd been horribly wrong.

Nagito sat up worried but also quite sleep drunk. "Hajime what's wrong?" he asked carefully placing a hand on his knee. He threw aside the sheets, giving the other space to be. "Can you breathe?"

Hajime wheezed in panic but tried to calm his erratic breathing at Nagito's request. "S-she's... S-stop... No" He managed to pant between gulps of air.

Nagito got out of bed and tried to make eye contact with him, coaxing him out of bed. "Come, let's step outside." he urged him.

Hajime let Nagito lead him off the bed and out into the frigid night air complacently, feeling too scared and disoriented to put up a fight. "N-no... Nagito... D-don't" He muttered softly, having difficulties separating his dreams from reality. His dreams where Nagito had been crying, begging him not to leave.

"Okay, not outside. Hajime? Breathe with me?" he said, taking Hajime's hand and put it over his heart." he said, sitting them back on the bed." Come on Hajime, it's time to wake up." he murmured softly.

Hajime let himself be guided, the feeling of Nagito's steady heartbeat under his palm steadying him somewhat. Nagito's words were soft and even though he couldn't understand them, the melodic tones were comforting. Slowly his body stopped shaking as violently.

Nagito took a deep breath, hoping to connect with Hajime. "Come on, Hajime. You can do this. Don't let despair win, let your hope shine through." he cheered softly, taking another deep breath.

Slowly, the blood stopped rushing in Hajime's ears. The tightness around his chest let up, as Nagito's encouragement finally reached him. As he came back to reality and saw Nagito sitting by his side, instead of crying in agony or dead on the floor of the old building, his eyes filled with tears. "Nagito you- you're okay!" He breathed, throwing his arms around the other.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay." he hummed, stroking Hajime's back. "What happened there?"  
He was a bit shaken, he had to admit that, but it was nothing in comparison to what Hajime just went through. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"S nothing..." Hajime mumbled into Nagito's shoulder "I had a nightmare.." He gripped Nagito a little tighter, wincing at the feeling of his bruises chafing against Nagito's firm shoulders.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair and even did something as daring as pressing his lips to the other's forehead. He'd read in a book somewhere that oxytocin could be released from physical contact.

"I-I guess it was about many things..." Hajime said slowly, trying to gather his thoughts. "Tsumiki, the accident earlier today... You." He sighed. "I guess it's just stress in general..."

"I'm sorry," Nagito said out of pity. "You shouldn't have had to deal with that. But she's dead now, you have nothing to worry about," he said and continued to stroke his hair. "You're safe now, and I swear I will make you that mattress suit if you hurt yourself again."

Hajime let out a weary chuckle. He felt his eyelids droop as he leaned on Nagito's shoulder, the sound of his heartbeat providing calming ambiance. "Thanks, Nagito. I feel better now." He muttered, so quietly it almost wasn't audible.

"Sorry, I missed that." he murmured, "What did you say?"  
Nagito let go of Hajime's hair to hear better.

Hajime lifted his head from Nagito's shoulder, gazing blearily at him. "Thanks, I feel much better now." He repeated, forcing a smile.

"You don't look okay though. Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, unsure how he'd assist in the best way possible for Hajime to be happy.

"I think I'm just... Worked up." Hajime said uncertainly. "I haven't really been processing stuff lately, and I think it kinda hit me all at once. But you should go back to sleep, you're tired right?"

"Yeah.." Nagito said and laid down again, unsure of how he'd be able to sleep again when Hajime felt so horrible as he did. "I think I'll wait instead."

Hajime held his face in his hand for a few moments, trying to block out the incessant sound of crashing waves and tropical atmosphere. He wanted a break from Jabberwock island, just for a little while. "Hey, Nagito?" He began slowly, checking if the other was awake. He laid back down in the bed, leaning his head on Nagito's shoulder. "Could you...tell me about your life before this? Just boring, regular stuff, you know?"  
He'd been desperately looking for memories of his own to fill the void, and yet what he'd found had been cold and distant. He hadn't had any friends, barely any acquaintances from school. His entire world was painted in admiration for Hopes Peak Academy. The school someone as untalented as himself could never join. Or well, that's all he had. Since his memories of his talent had been taken, it was no wonder the rest of his life seemed barren in comparison.

"Alright" Nagito began, speaking softly and melodically and calming Hajime down further with every word. "I was born in a rich family. Growing up we had maids. The house we lived in had a garden so my parents had a gardener hired. There was always this little corner of the house that he forgot though, and that's where I build a little tree house." he told him, leaving out the detail that the tree house eventually collapsed and he broke his arm.

"That sounds nice" Hajime mumbled sleepily. He could hardly imagine Nagito as a child, but hearing about it left a warm kind of comforting feeling in his chest. Nagito had had auburn hair then, right? "You'll have to show me when we get back home."

"Yeah... I used to collect rubber ducks too," he told him. "Maybe I could get the talent Ultimate Collector. I'd have the luck, wouldn't I?" he said, with a tiny laugh. "But yeah, I collected those yellow ducks, and every Friday I'd let them 'swim' in the pool and then the pool boy had to help me get them out of the ventilation," he told him, this time leaving out how he'd almost drowned when trying to fetch a duck when he was four.

Hajime chuckled. The calm and reminiscence in Nagito's voice were soothing his own anxieties more and more by the second. He wished he could have seen everything Nagito told him about. "Why yellow ducks?" He asked hoarsely.

"I thought they were cute. And yellow always made me happy," he said, stroking Hajime's hair. "My parents saw how happy I was over the ducks, so when I turned seven there was a duck pond installed in the garden." he continued.

"Wow..." Hajime marveled. "Hey Nagito, what were your parents like?" He'd asked the question before he could comprehend the implications. "Oh, sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"They were nice, but absent a lot," Nagito told him. "I was mainly raised by the service folks in our house, " he said. "and after they died the head butler became my legal guardian."

Just like me, Hajime thought. Maybe Nagito hadn't been too far off when he'd said they were similar. He felt the invented images of Nagito building and climbing in his treetops, and collecting his rubber ducks distract him from the humid air and crashing waves of Jabberwock island. "M gonna fall asleep.." He announced, burying his head further into Nagito's side.

"Good, sleep tight," he mumbled, drifting asleep too.

 

Nagito slept soundly for the rest of the night, and when the monokuma announcement rang he woke up, ready to smash the monitor to pieces.

Hajime woke shortly after, yawning widely and rubbing his eyes. "Damn, the Monokuma announcements should be banned.." He complained, still groggy from lack of sleep.

"Did you sleep better after that?" Nagito asked sitting up, far from as well rested as he was yesterday.

"Yeah, thanks Nagito. You really helped." Hajime said. His sleep had been mostly dreamless after the incident, but it was much better than nightmares. "So," He started, wanting to change the subject. "Do I get a good morning kiss?"

"Morning breath," Nagito warned. "But yes, if you want then sure." he hummed and gave him a small peck.

Hajime smiled. "We should probably get up but..." He threw his head back on the pillow in mock distress. "I don't wanna get up... It's too comfortable. Can't we spend the day in bed?"

"I'd love to, but I sweat a lot and I don't think you'd appreciate almost dying because you can't breathe a fourth time in three days." he joked and slumped down on the bed with him.

Hajime laughed brightly. "Yeah really. If there really is a God, I'd like to know what they have against my respiratory system." He pulled his hand through Nagito's soft white hair, feeling a content smile form on his face.

"Do you think there is a god?" Nagito wondered, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the free scalp massage.

Hajime thought for a moment. "I- I don't think it matters." He said at last. "I mean, I used to visit shrines and festivals and stuff but that was just because my parents insisted, you know? I guess I always kinda hoped but lately... Well, no God is saving us from this hell so..." He chuckled wryly. "I'm guessing this is the part where you tell me to never stop hoping?"

"Yeah. I don't believe in God though. But yeah, keep hoping, because no matter the despair you go through there will always be hope to come through and guide you. All you really need is hope." he hummed. "If you're lonely, keep hoping that someone will come to you and eventually they will. So don't give up Hajime, keep hoping so that we can go home." Nagito said surely.

Hajime stroked away a couple strands of white hair from Nagito's forehead. "Roger that." He smiled. "Anyway, what do you want to-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I'll open." Nagito offered and heaved himself out of bed and rubbed his face and went to open the door.

The door swung open to reveal Chiaki standing on the other side, carrying what looked like multiple cyclops and a big inflatable bath ring under her arm, amongst other things. "Hey Komaeda-kun, have you seen Hinata-kun anywhere?" She asked.

"Ah, yes I've seen him. Rather recently too. I think he'll be at the restaurant for breakfast in a while." Nagito said a light laugh, unsure whether they wanted this to be a thing now or if it was going to stay between them.

Chiaki looked unconvinced. "Well... I've been to the dining hall, and since you and Hinata-kun are the only ones who didn't show up for breakfast, I came to get you." She thought for a moment and then thrust two cyclops into Nagito's arms. "Well if you see him, tell him that everyone is gonna go diving today. I hope you'll come by and join us, Komaeda-kun." She smiled gently and excused herself to go change before the diving began.

Nagito carefully closed the door. "So, did you hear Nanami?" he asked, making his way back to the bed.

"Yeah," Hajime said. "But diving, huh? Have you done that before?" His stomach twists at the thought of going into the water again, though he pushes the fear down. He can't be scared of water forever, maybe this is just what he needs to see it isn't dangerous.

"No, I have snorkeled though," he said. "I was too young to go diving when we were in the Galápagos Islands," he said with a little smile. "Will you be alright?"

"I- I'll at least give it a shot." Hajime decided. He didn't want to give up before he'd started, particularly when Chiaki had sounded so excited. "I think I'll stick to snorkeling though, for the time being. Don't want to move too far under the water, you know?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't dare have you under water. With my luck you'd probably run out of oxygen," he muttered. "We should get dressed and go eat breakfast. And this time I'm going to need sunscreen too." he chuckled.

"Right. It's a miracle we weren't sunburned yesterday," Hajime agreed. He reluctantly got out of Nagito's comfortable bed, sitting down on the side. "Is it okay if I change here, or would you prefer I go back to my cabin?" He asked, hoping desperately that Nagito wouldn't give him a "whatever you prefer" answer. He didn't ever want to cause a reaction like the one from last night ever again.

"You may change wherever you like. I'll be fine with either since we don't really need to shower today," he said and went over to his wardrobe.

Hajime hopes he's telling the truth. He turns his back and quickly changes into his clothes from yesterday, placing Nagito's pajamas on his bed. "I can wash this if you want-"

"It's okay, you can keep them. I have a feeling this will become more and more frequent," he said and took off Hajime's shirt.

Hajime smiled. He was probably right. "We've practically been sleeping in each other's clothes anyway." He noted with amusement.

"Like an old couple." he laughed quickly snatching up on what he just spouted and quickly turned to put on a clean tank top.

Hajime chuckled at that and buttoned his white shirt. "Hey, if we're an old couple, would you let me brush your hair?" He'd actually wondered for a while since Nagito never seemed to brush or do anything with his white locks. Despite that, they were still incredibly soft, something that amazed Hajime every time he touched them.

"No. You see how fluffy it is now? You don't wanna brush my hair." he said shaking his head. "You'd drown."

Hajime pouted. "Come on! I could style it into pigtails or something, that'd be adorable." He suggested, grinning at the thoughts.

"You really don't want to brush it. If you think it's defying gravity now, you haven't seen it brushed," he said and changed pants too.

"Fine..." Hajime relents. He leans against the door, waiting for Nagito to get changed. "Still think you're being dramatic though."

"I'll prove you wrong. Bring hairbrushes tonight, you'll see," he said, finally finished changing. "But first breakfast."

 

"Yes! I'm sure there are hair supplies in the supermarket." Hajime cheered.  
They left the cabin together, entering the empty dining hall via the outside staircase. "Huh, guess we really are late," Hajime commented.

"Your tardiness is rubbing off on me." Nagito joked and began to assemble a plate for himself of the same old toast with the new twist of an orange.

"It's not like I'm usually this late," Hajime grumbles as he pours a glass of orange juice. "And besides, today there were... Extenuating circumstances." (Read: cuddling with you took the place as the no.1 thing I want to do for all eternity.)

"I wonder if you were like this in school too?" he wondered with a hum and sat down at a table. "Either way we should probably eat quickly. We don't want them to wait too long for you."

"Oh shut up," Hajime demanded, sitting down opposite Nagito with his plate of rice. "Those are bold words, anyway. Coming from the boy who thought a" bond" could solve all our problems when we got here."

"Did it not though?" he asked, giving him his signature deranged look. "Just kidding."

Hajime rolled his eyes. "You'd make Monomi proud." He said, chewing on a mouthful of rice.

"Rude." he joked, but fell quiet after that and ate his breakfast in silence.

They finished their meal in comfortable silence and prepared to go meet the others by the beach. Hajime still has the swimming trunks from yesterday in his cabin, so they decide to meet up after they've gotten dressed. "Hey, Nagito?" He says as they part ways. "You know, if you don't want to swim topless you could go grab a wetsuit or something. That way you don't have to ruin your tank tops with salt water."

"They're very tight though." he said with an insecure smile, "But it's a good idea. I'll try one."

"Yeah, or we could just bug Monokuma to get us some swimming shirts." He said, smiling. They parted ways and Hajime emerged from his cabin a couple of minutes later, carrying a towel and the swimming gear he'd gotten from Chiaki in one arm. He leaned against his cabin door, waiting for Nagito to finish.

Nagito ended up wearing a wetsuit, "It's better because I won't burn as much" He'd said but the exposure he felt wearing it was killing him. He ended up wearing swim trunks over it.

Hajime waved at him as he exited his cabin, grabbing his hand as they walked side by side toward the beach. The others were already at the beach and greeted them cheerfully. "Oh Komaeda, we're matching!" Sonia said excitedly, also clad in a tight wetsuit.

"I see, I'll change if you want me to." he offered timidly. "I completely understand if you don't want to wear the same thing as garbage like me, I should've just stayed home."

Sonia looked confused, and Hajime stepped in to resolve the situation. "Don't worry about it Sonia, we're both really glad to be here." He assured her, turning to Nagito. "Hey, try to relax okay? Nobody thinks that about you, I'm sure of it."

"I'll just be a bother when I'm around, I won't have the energy to swim as long as any of you, I should just go back to the cabin and mind my own business," he said anxiously, already regretting coming with them.

Hajime's face fell. "Nagito, you know that isn't true. Come on, tell me what's really the problem. You were excited to go diving only minutes ago, right?"

"No, I shouldn't be in the way, I should let you all have fun together without me here to ruin it all," he said, looking around for a way to sneak away.

Hajime grabbed his arm, not so tightly that Nagito couldn't escape, but enough that it keeps him in place in the meantime. "Nagito. We were both invited. I heard Chiaki say so herself. Everyone wants you here. I want you here. Please don't do this again." He says, voice rising in desperation.

"I'll just get tired halfway through..." he said but stopped trying to get away.

"Then we'll stop." Hajime assures him. "I'm not sure how much of this I can take either. I'll just be glad to have an excuse to leave after a little while. So don't talk like that, okay?"

"Okay, whatever you say." he agreed and put on the cyclops. "Let's do this then?"

Hajime smiled brightly, and they walked down to meet the others. 

"Hey Komaeda-kun, Hinata-kun,' they were greeted by Chiaki, who had been floating face down in the shallow water but lifted her head to greet them.  
" Hey, Chiaki! You're not gonna go farther out?" Hajime asked, aware of Nagito trailing a few steps behind him. Chiaki was quiet for a while, then she responded, "I don't like it when things touch my feet. It's like those terrifying mermaids from Inside are trying to drag me down under the water."

"Maybe there are," Nagito said spookily as he caught up, crouching down in the water and stalked towards her.

Chiaki looked back with wide eyes. "Oh no! Will they eat me alive too? Like in Inside?!" Hajime smiled at the two.   
"He's messing with you, Chiaki." He informed her, crouching down with them. Chiaki's cheeks puffed. "Aww... That's mean Komaeda-kun."

"I'm just saying, we have no way of knowing what's lurking in these waters," he said, slowly creeping closer until he dove down and grabbed her feet.

Chiaki shrieked and kicked until Nagito had gotten a face full of water. He flicked some water back at Chiaki and Hajime joined in, drenching them both as best he could. "You guys are the worst!" Chiaki exclaimed between giggles.

"If you want I'll bring some mermaid seaweed back," Nagito promised with a grin, wiping his face from the water.

Chiaki shuddered. "Don't you dare Komaeda! I don't have the submarine yet!" 

Hajime had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded in agreement. Chiaki huffed at them both, and then demonstratively submerged her head again. Hajime turned to Nagito. "Well, you have done this before, right? How does this-" He waved the snorkel in the air, "work, exactly?"

"Stick it to the band, put it in your mouth, breathe through it. If it gets filled with water you stick your tongue in it when you've surfaced and shoot hair through it. Like this," he said and demonstrated, spraying an impressive glittering fountain into the air. "This means ok," he said making the sign.   
"Point with your whole hand when you wanna swim somewhere, and this," he said holding his thumb up. "means we need to surface immediately."

Hajime nodded slowly. Pulling on the cyclops and snorkel as Nagito had shown. "Oh uh, one more thing," He said, uncertainty creeping into his voice. "Please, um, don't disappear.." He said softly. "I don't want to do this alone."

"I won't. That's what we have the string and the floatie for. I'm tied to a floatie and so are you. If you can't find me follow the string." he said, pointing to the rather large rubber duck buoys. "Looks like I lucked out at rocket punch again. I brought socks too, in case your fins start to hurt."

"Oh, right," Hajime said, suddenly feeling stupid for not having realized sooner. He was letting his irrational fear get the best of him, he knew that much. "Okay then, let's do this." He said, feeling determination overwrite the anxiety. Nagito won't let me disappear, he told himself.

"You can even hold onto the buoy to float if you get tired," he said and handed him the end of the rope to tie around his waist. "I have a knife too, in case someone gets stuck," he said and held u his foot with the knife sheathed by his ankle.

Hajime raised his eyebrows. "You came very prepared for someone who didn't want to do this in the first place," He comments. "Okay then, I think I get everything. Let's go." Hajime said before he could talk himself out of it.

"Yeah," he said softly and laid down onto his stomach and began swimming away, waiting for Hajime a few meters away.

Hajime went after, quenching the initial panic as his head submerged beneath the water. He swam after Nagito, the repetitive motions somewhat distracting him. Hajime let out an amazed breath as he saw the sandy ocean floor. The natural ripples in the sand were mesmerizing, and he made a mental note to ask someone, probably Nagito, what caused them when they surfaced.

They swam further and further out, sticking to their floaties until they had the luck to discover that the Jabberwock islands, much like plenty other islands did have its fair collection of coral reefs and tropical marine life with inhabitants like Moorish idols, imperial angelfish and oriental sweetlips but also barracudas, moray eels and stingrays.

Hajime gasped in wonder at the sights, never having seen anything similar in his life. He remembered having read somewhere that coral reefs acted as shelters for thousands, sometimes millions of individual species and Hajime found himself envying the small creatures who were surrounded by such wonder every single day and didn't even seem to notice. Then he reminded himself that he was looking at fish, and he felt somewhat foolish for that train of thought.

As they laid there floating in the water, narrowly avoiding a lionfish, Nagito exclaimed and pointed towards the underwater Cliffside, gesturing for Hajime to follow.

Hajime swam after him, entranced by their environments. He wondered what Nagito had seen, taking care not to loose sight of his white hair among the various colors of the coral reef.

Nagito pointed into the deep dark waters where something slowly moved towards them, something huge. Nagito gripped excitedly after Hajime's hand. This was a fish he'd heard about but never gotten the chance to see. The mythical napoleon fish.

Hajime gripped Nagito's hand tightly in response, feeling fear intermingling with excitement in his gut. Whatever it was that was swimming towards them, Nagito didn't look afraid, so it was probably not dangerous. He couldn't see Nagito's eyes due to the cyclops on his face, but his mouth was quirked into a big grin as the Shadow came closer, revealing a dark green fish larger than Hajime's entire body.   
The fish turned to them for a moment, regarding them before deciding that they were uninteresting and disappearing back behind a cliff formation.

Nagito gestured for them to surface because he had to tell Hajime about what they just saw, beginning to ascend.

As they resurfaced Nagito pushed up his cyclops shaking water out of his face as he clung to his duck.

"What- what was that?" Hajime gasped, lifting up his cyclop. His entire body felt suddenly warm, despite the cold water eclipsing him. It was a strange sensation like he was simultaneously freezing and burning up.

"Napoleon wrasse!" he exclaimed excitedly. "They're huge underwater puppies!" adrenaline coursed through his body. Seeing such a giant this close was both nerve-wracking and exciting.

"I only see one underwater puppy right now," Hajime smirked, throwing a pointed look at Nagito's dripping hair and excited grin.

"Har har, we get to see an endangered species and you just want to flirt, grow up Hajime." he laughed with an obvious blush spreading.

Hajime laughed, but his shoulders drooped and his grip on the buoy slipped for a moment. He felt the exhaustion wash over him, he wasn't used to so much swimming. He could see Nagito, despite his flushed cheeks and glittering eyes, panting harshly opposite him as well. "That was great!" he says, smiling wide. "We'll have to it again. How about we head back for now, though? I feel exhausted."

"Yeah, good idea. Be careful swimming over the coral reefs so you don't accidentally kick anything. The triggerfish we saw won't be happy about it." he laughed tiredly and clung to his buoy.

Well, that's comforting, Hajime thought as they started to swim back. They passed by Souda and Sonia on the way back, being lectured on the particulars of some kind of fish by Gundham. Hajime suspected the information would be needed to be taken with a grain of salt since he was pretty certain no fish was able to "bend the fabric of reality".

When they returned to the beach Nagito was completely exhausted, hot and annoyed. Let's just say a wet wetsuit wasn't really comfortable on land.

"Wow..." Hajime panted, staggering onto the beach. Chiaki waved slowly at them. She'd moved up on land and was now furiously mashing the buttons of some kind of gaming console, beneath the shade of a (mighty fine) palm tree. "Let's head back and shower?" Hajime suggested, still out of breath.

"Yeah, good idea. The salt is going to get really sticky and itchy otherwise." he shuddered, already feeling gross.

By the time they reached the cottages, Hajime was supporting Nagito, since the other was practically dead on his feet. His stamina really was awful. "Let's go have lunch after this, and just relax," Hajime suggested, feeling no particular inclination to do anything. He had a sudden thought, and his eyes got a mischevious glint. "You promised me you'd let me brush and style your hair!" He said triumphantly.

"After it's been brushed there is no styling it." Nagito panted, thanking him for the help before staggering into his cottage to finally get out of that godawful wetsuit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to everyone who's played Inside! It's great!  
> Also if you want an explanation for the sudden lesson in marine biology then...so do I. Some questions are best left unanswered guys!
> 
> /LadygoldLoZ


	17. That time LadygoldLoZ decided to swap tenses mid-writing and Attakaikukkii had to rewrite it all

After showering and changing, (the warm shower water had felt divine against Hajime's sore muscles, and he couldn't help wishing he'd had a bath to soak in.) Hajime left his cottage, feeling very refreshed. He'd put on clean clothes and washed his hair, noting with annoyance that the spikes refused to yield to gravity, no matter how much conditioner he'd used. He waited for Nagito to emerge from his cottage, sitting down on the boardwalk and soaking on the sun.

Nagito soon emerged from his own hut, somehow magically sunburn under the wetsuit hair already beginning to dry. "Did you have to wait long?"

Hajime shook his head. "Just finished myself, actually." They walked together toward the hotel, (Hajime for once managing to not first turn toward the exit gate) in comfortable silence. "So, what from Monokumas endless buffé of foods are you feeling like today?" Hajime asked.

"No idea. Honestly, I'm not that hungry," he said with an excusing smile. "I hope that's not too much of an issue."

"Well, we just did some pretty exhausting exercise. You need to eat." -And I need to stop sounding like a freaking housewife, Hajime thought.

"Yeah, I'll eat. We'll see when we get there," he said softly, a smile tugging on his lips. It felt nice being cared for.

They entered the dining hall, finding it empty. Hajime felt absolutely starving after burning so much energy, so he quickly filled his plate with foods and brought the entire pack of orange juice to the table, not wanting to get up to refill his glass.

Nagito on the other hand just got some noodles of a kind and joined Hajime at the table. "I'm sorry my plate isn't much to look at, I don't really have much of an appetite."

Hajime shrugged. "Well, it's not like I can tell you want to do." He conceded, but picked up Nagito's glass and filled it with freshly pressed orange juice. "At least drink some of this, it has lots of vitamins...I think."

"You're so nice to care for me," he said gratefully and gladly took the juice and took a sip before digging into his noodles, apparently much hungrier than anticipated.

Hajime snorted. "It's orange juice, not like I hung the moon." But Nagito's words felt nice, like a warmth in his chest. He hadn't realized how much he'd wanted to hear those words, unburdened by self-deprecating babble or praise for his Ultimate talent. Just, Hajime Hinata. Just him.

"Still, to think you'd - thank you," he said finally getting that Hajime got bummed out by Nagito telling him the truth. He ate in comfortable silence for a while before making conversation. "I can't believe I got sunburned by that."

Hajime raised his eyebrows. "Wow, how did you manage that? Your skin must be actual magic." He'd meant it as a jab, but realized it could very well be interpreted as a compliment. Well, he mused as he drained his glass of juice, it wasn't untrue.

"I'm guessing on malnutrition and radiation therapy." he chuckled and happily ate his noodles without a care in the work for the cancer bomb he dropped. Honestly, he didn't mind. As long as he didn't have to die alone.

Hajime's face fell at that. He kept forgetting everything Nagito'd been through, and every remainder made his heart ache with sympathy. Still, Nagito didn't need his pity, he'd told him as much. "Well then, guess we'll have to remember sunscreen next time then. Maybe you should wear a brimmed hat too, that might help."

"Yeah, that would help. I'd need SPF 50 though." he grinned and ate with vigor. "Turns out I was hungrier than I first thought."

"See, I told you so. Here, why don't you have some of mine?" Hajime asked, pushing his plate towards Nagito.

"Ah, I could just go get more for me," he excused, not wanting to steal Hajime's food. "You don't have to."

"Its fine, I took too much anyway. Come on, I know you like these" He said, picking up a bacon wrapped asparagus with his chopsticks and holding it over Nagito's plate.

"Fine." He gave in and held up his plate for Hajime to drop it. "But you better not be doing this because I want more, but because you don't want it."

"Yeah yeah," Hajime agreed.

They made small talk as they ate, Hajime occasionally drooping pieces of food on Nagito's plate. After a while, it became almost a game, trying to place pieces without being noticed. He was pretty terrible at it, but you know, it was fun.

"Hajime, how come a majority of the food I get on my plate, which I don't remember picking up from the buffet, is vegetables?" Nagito asked between laughter as he caught Hajime's chopsticks red-handed with his own.

"Because you were going to have only noodles for dinner. You probably need fibers and vitamins." Hajime said disgruntedly. At Nagito's amused stare he picked up a piece of carrot and ate the entire thing at once, looking him straight in the eyes as he chewed.

"Sometimes you're like a little kid." he snickered and ate the zucchini which had somehow ended up on his plate. "It's endearing."

"S-shut up," Hajime said, trying and failing to hide his red cheeks by taking a big swig of orange juice. "Not like you're any better either, I mean you get so excited you might as well be a puppy sometimes." Hajime rebutted, remembering fondly Nagito's excited smile when they had been diving.

"You would've been too if you understood what we got to see," he huffed proudly. "Are you sure you still want to brush my hair? It's even frizzier after I've swum in salt water," he warned, finishing the food he'd gotten from Hajime.

"I'm not backing down," Hajime said with determination. "Your hair will rue the day it met Hajime Hinata."   
He leaned back in his chair, the food cleared off his plate.

"I was thinking you might want to back down because you'd probably once again almost die of asphyxiation," he warned but agreed, resting for only a second before he got up to clear their plates. "I just remembered we're in a killing game. Maybe it's not so smart to have people dive alone, with knives." 

Hajime blanched. "No, that's fine. That's fine because there'll be no more killings." The words felt empty on his tongue but he had to say them. He had to believe in his classmates, that there would be no more killings. "Come on, I'm sure the supermarket will have hair supplies," He said, placing his chopsticks on his plate with a little more force than necessary.

"Yeah, you're right, sorry." he apologized timidly, rinsing off their plates before leaving them in a pile to come back and clean later and followed Hajime like the puppy he was compared to. 

Hajime's stomach twisted at his mellow words. Spending time with Nagito was a tightrope balance, and he couldn't lose his cool for a second or he would fall off. He led the way to the Rocketpunch Market, Nagito trailing behind him. "Hey, so what do you think we should bring anyway?" Hajime asked, desperate to break the tense silence.

"Hm? Hairbrush I guess?" he said dully, not really sure what Hajime wanted to gain out of this. "Maybe some kind of conditioner?" 

Hajime scanned the shelves with hair product. "Well, I'm not exactly super knowledgeable when it comes to hair products, but this looks like it might be helpful." He held up a bottle of some kind of bottled liquid. "Says it's to make the hair smoother and easier to handle," He said, reading off the label. "Also it's coconut scented:"

"Nah, I think this is good," Hajime said, returning with a hairbrush and a few bottles cradled in his arms. "Let's go back to the cabins and just relax today," He suggested. "I'm exhausted after swimming."

"Alright, let's go meet your death from asphyxiation," he said with a small, sad smile. "Is it okay if I read?" 

Hajime picked up on the sadness in Nagito's words as he spoke, and stopped, taking the others hand. "Nagito, what's wrong? You sound upset, did I do something?"

"Nono, it's okay. Let's go brush my hair?" he said with a much brighter smile and looked down fondly at their hands. "Let's hope nothing bad comes from this," he said, his anxious heart settling down. Everything was going to be okay. Hajime promised, didn't he? He'd just have to trust him.

Hajime looked unconvinced. "Okay, but please tell me if something bothers you, Nagito. I want to help." They walked hand in hand to the cottages and Hajime pushed the worried thoughts out of his head, instead focusing on how nice it would be to spend some peaceful times with Nagito.

They walked back to the hotel and decided to take residence in Hajime's room this time, Nagito just popping by his room and picked up How To Kill a Mockingbird before settled down, Hajime on his bed and Nagito ensuring Hajime that he was fine on the floor and that it'd be easier to reach. He ended up on a pillow, ensnared in his book and Hajime got to tussle with his impossible hair, armed with only a hairbrush. 

"Let me know if I hurt you, okay?" Hajime ordered before he began, knowing full well that Nagito wouldn't tell him even if he was in danger of pulling out his hair. He started at the bottom, figuring that he'd work his way up, but his brush got impossibly tangled after only a few seconds. "Wow, you weren't kidding. This is going to be tough," he muttered to himself, pouring some liquid into his hand and smoothing it into Nagito's hair to try and rescue the ensnared hairbrush.

"Told you," he said and leaned back against the bed and fully focused on his book.

After a perilous battle, Hajime managed to free the hairbrush and brush through a part of Nagito's hair. The entire cabin smelled off chemically induced coconut at this point, but Hajime saw it as a victory. He'd figured out that the best way to go about this would be to brush both from the outward and inward parts of hair and work his way toward the middle, hoping his tugging wasn't too painful. Nagito wasn't complaining, at least, though he knew that didn't say much. 

It took a solid hour to untangle Nagito's hair, but when they were done and he reeked of coconut, to the point he was beginning to worry that Soda would crack his head up for coconut milk, his hair magically obeyed gravity, hanging smoothly from his head.

"I don't know what black magic you used, but this is impressive." 

Hajime's hands were by this point sticky with so much hair product he had to hold them a meter away from his face to avoid the stench, but he climbed off the bed and admired his handiwork. Nagito's smooth hair hung down to just above his shoulders, swishing lightly in the wind as he spoke. He looked really, freaking good in it too, which made Hajime's cheeks color. "Holy shit Nagito, that looks-" (Amazing, divine, gorgeous) "good. It's a good look on you."

"Soda is gonna eat me up." he snickered, reaching up to touch his hair and stood up to look himself in the mirror, surprised at how flat Hajime managed to get it. 

Hajime came up behind him, taking a handful of hair and pushing it up into the air, noting with amusement as it bounced off Nagito's back. He looked oddly... frail with his hair down and framing his face, as opposed to it giving him the slightly disheveled look from before. For some reason, Hajime couldn't stop fiddling with his hair either, twisting it around his fingers and petting it gently. "I never knew your hair was this long," He commented.

"Neither did I," he said surprised, inspecting it closely. At the sight of his slightly auburn tips, his smile grew solemn. "I miss my old hair."

Hajime looked at him fondly. Then he put an arm around Nagito's shoulders, his own reflection joining Nagito's in the mirror. "Well, I think your hair is very pretty. Just the way it is now." He said, twirling a few strands decisively.

"Yeah." Nagito smiled bittersweetly at Hajime, running his fingers through his hair. "Wanna try braiding it, now that it's this long?"

"Are you serious?" Hajime said in disbelief. "Yeah, totally! You sure it's okay?" He remembered Nagito being less than enthusiastic when he'd proposed the idea before.

"Yeah, I mean, what's the harm?" he shrugged, not really fond of how long his hair had gotten, but dammit if he was going to cut off the last bit of his auburn hair he had left. "Worst case scenario we just have to cut it." 

Hajime saw the sadness in Nagito's eyes at those words. "That's not gonna happen." He said. "Here, sit on the bed and I'll sit behind you, it'll be too difficult to reach if you sit on the floor like before. He sat in the middle of the bed, making room for Nagito by the edge.

Nagito sat down happily and crossed his legs and laid all of his hair onto his back. "How far along in Brave New World are you?" he wondered curiously as he let Hajime get to work.

Hajime hummed as he parted Nagito's soft hair into three parts. "I've read a pretty big chunk now, I guess I see why you like it so much. It's... interesting." He could definitely see how Nagito would find it relatable, though the dark subject matter put Hajime off somewhat. "Let me know if I pull too hard, okay?"

"Yeah, I promise," he hummed in response. "To Kill a Mockingbird is quite an interesting read, but I can't really relate. But it's good." 

"Well, that's good. You're a proper American school child now, Nagito." Hajime said, trying to braid as gently as he could. "You seem to be really into it, anyway. It's impossible to communicate with you when you're reading that thing," he teased.

"Well yeah, a book is usually better when you focus on reading it," he said, picking at Hajime's reading habits. "Or what do you say, Mister Hinata." 

"Oh god, please never do that again." Hajime groaned, color rising to his cheeks. He momentarily forgot how far he'd gotten on the braid, and had to carefully figure out which strand of hair to move. 

"How come you know how to braid anyway? Did you have a little sister?" Nagito asked, beginning to turn his head before remembering to hold still.

"Oh, no I was an only child," Hajime said. "I learned in elementary school, had a couple female friends who wanted me to braid their hair, and I thought it would make me cool so.."

"Ultimate hair-stylist." Nagito joked, closing his book to focus on talking to Hajime. "Hey, Hajime?"

"Yeah?" Hajime said, putting the finishing touches on the braid. He tied it with a hairband and let it fall down onto Nagito's back. "What's up?"

"What would you call us? Friends who sometimes kiss? Something more? Something less?" he wondered, not yet turning to face him. 

"I-" Hajime's heart skipped a beat. Nagito had also been thinking of it. He had difficulties discerning which answer Nagito would prefer, but all he could do was answer honestly. "Well... I don't know. But I know which one I'd prefer, if you want it too." He said lamely, not sure how to put his thoughts into words.

"Which would you prefer?" he murmured, refusing to look at Hajime out of embarrassment and insecurity. 

Hajime had to fight the urge to hide his red face in his hands. "I- I really like you Nagito. I want this to be- to be more than, more than friendship. I guess." He stared stubbornly down into his lap, fisting his hands in the bedsheets as he awaited Nagito's reply. His heart felt like it was beating so hard it could jump out of his chest at any moment.

"Yeah, it feels wrong to just call this friendship. I really like you too and it's terrifying knowing that you could disappear any minute because of my luck," he said after a small pause to think, locking his hands together. "But yeah, from the bottom of my heart... I am truly in love with the hope that sleeps inside you."

Hajime's heart skipped so many beats he was convinced he'd die.   
"I- uh yeah. That's- um, that's good." He stuttered, his entire body wanting to curl up in embarrassment. "I- uh, I like you too. Very much."

"So, we're boyfriends then?" he asked cautiously, terrified of overstepping boundaries. 

"Boyfriends.." Hajime said the word tenderly, liking the way it sounded. "Yeah- yeah I'd like that." He said slowly, smiling as he said it. 

"Boyfriend who kiss sometimes and sleep holding hands." He murmured, finally turning around to face Hajime, kinda hoping he'd get one. He didn't want to assume anything though.

As Nagito turned around, Hajime's heart did a summersault for the fourth time in as many minutes. If he'd looked beautiful before, he looked absolutely stunning now, hair pulled back and grey eyes shining. His white hair shone from the oil Hajime had used to brush it, and combined with his pale complexion and white clothes, he looked almost ethereal. For one fleeting moment, Hajime was afraid he'd crumble into sea foam if he touched him.   
He wanted nothing more than to kiss him, and never let him go. 

"So, if we're boyfriends, does that mean I get to do this?" He asked softly, pressing their lips together.

Nagito closed his eyes and enjoyed the gentle gesture. "Yeah, you may do that now," he said affectionately as they parted, making a move as daring as stroking Hajime's cheek. "Do I get to do this?"

"Of course you do," Hajime smiled, placing his own hand over Nagito's and keeping it resting against his cheek. Then his face fell somewhat. "Right, we've got to talk about what we're going to tell the others too.."

"I don't think they'll mind getting to know that you're gay, or bi, but you- dating? me, that's another story," he said, feeling his stomach drop like a stone. "They'll in comparison to you realize how much better than me you are and that you're being wasted on the likes of me."

"They're wrong then," Hajime said, wrapping his arms around Nagito and giving him another kiss. "Besides, it's not like I need their permission anyway. I'm free to do what I want, as are you."

"Or, as free as the rules of the eHandbook say you are. You still can't change in the beach house." Nagito said with a tiny laugh. "But I don't know what we should tell the others, I'll just trust you to know what to do, you're the ultimate, aren't you?" 

Hajime's stomach sank at those words. "Nagito, don't say that. I don't know what to do either, I'm scared too, alright. I may be an ultimate, but that doesn't change the fact that I haven't done anything like this before either. I'm also scared what they will think."

"We could just, not say anything. We're not obligated to say anything either, we could just be," he said. "And if they have a problem with that then they can take it up with us personally," he suggested. 

Hajime nodded. Putting off the problem seemed foolish, but he didn't have a better suggestion. "Well, we can tell them later, in any case." He said. He reached for Nagito's braid, holding it gently and turning it around, admiring the silky white hair. "Did I tell you? You look absolutely gorgeous with your hair up?"

"I believe you might have," he replied, somewhat amused. "Do you think the other's are back from the beach yet? Because I have the feeling you might need to wash your hands."

Hajime hummed in agreement. He'd used at least three different oils and conditioners, and for some reason, they were all strongly perfumed. His entire cottage smelled like a hair salon. "Yeah, I'm gonna do that. You're probably going to smell of coconut for the foreseeable future, by the way."

"Hope you like coconut then, because I'm assuming you're going to want to sleep in my room, which doesn't reek of hair products," he said with a slight chuckle. 

Hajime nodded. "God, we're gonna have to air this entire place out for months and it's still gonna smell." He complained, gingerly getting off the bed to avoid touching anything with his clammy hands. "I'm gonna go and try to wash this off;" He declared, heading toward the glass bathroom.

"We probably should've done this outside," he said, a bit too late as the cottage already reeked of too much coconut. Nagito got up and stretched. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Yeah, guess we'll have to remember for next time," Hajime said from the kitchen. He came out a couple moments later, toweling off his hands. "Well this is now ruined," he commented, throwing the towel in the laundry bin. "A walk sounds good though, I need some fresh air."

"Thank you, I'm starting to get a headache from this stuff. Do I get to rinse it out later?" he asked with a small, awkward laugh as he opened the door.

"The bottle says no, but my lungs would disagree," Hajime says, mock coughing as they exited the cottage. They both breathed in harshly as they entered the fresh air. "Man, this is so nice," Hajime commented.

"Agreed. We forgot sunblock again though and there is a large possibility that it too is coconut-scented. Where do you wanna go?" Nagito wondered, letting his hand rest by his side in case Hajime felt like holding it.

Hajime thought for a moment. "Well, we could walk to the Third Island? If we want to avoid the others for now, I don't really see why anyone would be there."

"Yeah we could do that." he agreed. "Do you know what the music venue name means?" he asked, snickering.

"What? No, I'm- uh, not great at English, and when I asked Sonia she just laughed" Hajime said, sheepishly. "Why? Do you know?"

"It translates to titty typhoon." Nagito snickered and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"What??" Hajime exclaimed. "What kind of name is that? And how can you say it so matter a factly?"

"Because that's the translation! Also in case you didn't already know it, I'm pretty gay." Nagito reminded him.

"Oh guess I forgot" Hajime smirked. "I think I might need a reminder." Even as he said it, his heart pounded in his chest.

"Then here, let me remind you." he smiled, pecking his cheek. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Hajime beamed. That was the first time Nagito had instigated a display of affection, mostly unprompted. "No, I liked it." He gave the other a peck in response, enjoying Nagito's blushing at the action.

"You don't have to do that," he said, nausea bubbling up for no particular reason. "Trash like me doesn't deserve affection- I'm sorry, Hajime, I shouldn't have kissed you either, you probably just think it's disgusting."

"What? Nagito what are you talking about?" Hajime asked confused. "Come on, I don't think that at all." Nagito opened his mouth to refute, but Hajime cut him off. "Nagito listen, I just told you I- I really like you. Right? Come on, what happened?"

"Nothing you should have to worry about, you should never have had to worry about all of this, I'm sorry you've had to drag along such a disgusting freak as me," he said, nausea growing stronger. "I was a fool to think I could ever help any of you, you should have just left me to starve in the Old Building."

"What?" Hajime asked, growing more and more concerned. He'd thought Nagito was getting better, but now he was worried. Nagito's eyes were getting that glazed look again, similar to the first trial. Hajime gently grabbed Nagito's hand, trying to get him back to reality. "Nagito that isn't true. I care about you, and if you were hurt I'd-" His voice broke. "Anyway, Nagito please don't talk about yourself like that. You don't deserve it."

Nagito's head raced and his heart felt like it was going to launch straight out of his mouth any second. "Hajime you shouldn't - you should just leave, go date Soda, or Kuzuryuu or Nidai-" he swallowed hard and stopped dead in his tracks.

Hajime was growing more worried by the minute, Nagito was paling quickly and Hajime didn't at all understand what he was saying. They were not far from the Motel, so he gently took Nagito's arms, guiding him toward the building.   
"Nagito, I won't ever leave you. Come on, we'll go inside and you can sit down, okay?"

"No, you should go, I'll be fine alone, you can go," he said, erratic and panicky as he trembled as he imagined everything that could happen to Hajime or all of the things he'd put him through.

"I'm not leaving and that's final," Hajime said, pulling Nagito in through the entrance. He led Nagito to one of the chairs in the lobby, guiding him to sit and then sitting on a chair opposite him. "Nagito please talk to me. What are you so worried about? I want to help."

"No, Hajime you have to go, you'll only end up dead or tortured or something even worse, you can't!" he exclaimed, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Hajime's stomach churned. "Nagito please, I need you to calm down, okay? I'm going to be alright, I promise. I've promised before, remember?"

"But you're not! Everyone dies!" he almost screamed at him. "Everyone dies, you should go, you have to go!"

"I'm not leaving!" Hajime insisted, feeling tears gathering in his eyes as well. "You're the only good thing that's happened to me on this godforsaken island and I'm not leaving!"

"And I don't want you to die and be left here all alone!" he yelled back at him "I don't want to be left here alone..."

Hajime leaned forward until his arms could wrap around Nagito's shaking body. "I'm not leaving, I told you so. We were out today, right? Nothing bad happened then."

"A shark could've come and your cut could get infected or your cottage floor breaks and you drown in your sleep or someone could murder you." he rambled. "And there's nothing else than this I could do to prevent it!"

"Nagito-" Hajime started, tilting the other's face up to look in his eyes. "Did any of that happen? Am I hurt?"

"Yes! Tsumiki tried to kill you twice and then you almost drowned at a beach and you cut your arm!" he exclaimed frantically, growing more and more frustrated with Hajime as he didn't realize.

"Nagito we've been over this. None of that was your fault. " Hajime sighed. He somehow needed to show Nagito that he wasn't in danger.   
"Nagito listen. Okay. Let's go over this. How do you think Tsumiki attacking me is related to your luck?"

"How come she remembered and went after you if not someone else?! She could've gone after anyone else, even me, hell I was unconscious and dying, either way, I would've been the easier victim too!" He yelled out of breath, heart pounding so hard he felt like he was going to faint. 

"How come she remembered? That was probably Monokuma's plan from the very beginning. He knows our school memories, right? He made this motive tailored so that Tsumiki would kill someone. And why me? He probably had that figured out too. Just like in the second case, where the motive had ensured that the killer would be Fuyuhiko and the victim Mahiru. They were the only ones affected by that motive, just as Mikan and I were the ones affected by this one. You see? Your luck didn't impact this, Monokuma must have had this set up way before the killing game, we didn't even know each other then, so it's impossible for your luck to have interfered."

"But why you?! Why you out of all people?! It's only because you got close to me and that I love you that you're being targeted!" Nagito wheezed, heart aching to the point where he folded over himself, tears running steadily by now.

"How do you figure?" Hajime said gently. He wanted so bad to just make Nagito understand, but he knew he had to be patient. Nagito worked in logical deductions, and Hajime needed to show him that his logic was flawed.  
"Nagito, we're all targets here, you know that as well as I do. It's not like I'm the only one who is or has been in mortal danger:" He looked down, remembering all their classmates who hadn't made it so far. "If anything I'm lucky to still be here, and so are you." He said, putting a hand on Nagito's shoulder to comfort him.

"I don't want you to die, how hard to get is that? You don't have to act heroic and pity me and care for me! I just want you to not die!" he wailed clenching his chest as he sobbed. "So stop being around me and start caring about your own life!"

"Nagito... This isn't some misguided heroism or pity. I care about you, to me you're worth it Nagito!" Hajime wanted to bang his head against the wall. He didn't know how to get through to Nagito.

"I'm not worth dying for, Hajime! I'm barely worth eating your leftovers!" he cried, his heart breaking over the fact that he didn't get it, that Hajime was just digging his own grave by staying around him. "I'll probably not even get to see you all embody the ultimate hope, but I'm okay with that, as long as you don't die!" 

"Nobody is worth dying for Nagito, that's not what I'm saying. I'm not going to die, I'm telling you I'm not. I won't stop caring about you Nagito, I can't do that. That's like telling me to stop breathing. And I won't leave you alone either, because I know you don't really want me to. You're scared Nagito, and that's okay. We're all scared in this situation, but you can't lose Hope. That's what you told me, remember? That no matter how bad it got, Hope would save you in the end. Has that changed?"

"It's not worth it if you're not there!" He cried, just wanting to give up. His head felt heavy from the blood pounding through his ears and he let it fall only to have it fall into his hands, his fractured wrists making him cry out in pain.

"Nagito come on... You can't think like that. It'll drive you crazy. In this situation, if you put me before yourself you'll end up resenting me, and I don't want that." Hajime said softly. He lifted Nagito's head from his hands, moving him onto his lap and letting his head fall on his shoulder instead. He took care to place Nagito's fractured hands on his waist as tenderly as possible, and then put his arms around the other.   
"It's okay Nagito, it's okay to be scared. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Let's say you don't die, what then? You leave me all alone as soon as you grow tired of me." he hissed, laying his head to rest on Hajime's shoulder. "My luck is going to claim you as it's next victim if you don't leave me now." 

"Nagito please, you'll have to trust me. That's how friendships and relationships work, if you can't trust the other it'll all fall. When we survive this together, I promise to never leave your side, okay? I want to see your treehouse, and your duckpond, and the pictures of you with auburn hair, okay? I want to see everything you love because I'll love it too. I love you Nagito." He said the words so hurriedly he didn't catch himself in time, but he didn't regret the words. He truly did love Nagito, he realized, even though it was fast. Must be due to the stressful environment they were in, he figured. They were all mayflies, nobody truly knew how long they had left to live.

"You're going to die, I don't want that..." He whispered. "They need you to find hope and guide you through" Nagito hoarsely said into his neck, tears still falling. "I don't want you to die."

"I don't want you to die either, Nagito," Hajime assured him. "I want us both to have a happy ending, and leave this wretched place for good." He idly played with Nagito's braid, twirling the end through his fingers. "I want a quiet life with you. Going to school, cafe dates, kissing under the stars or whatever- Can you imagine that Nagito?"

"No.. not for long at least." he sniffled, hugging Hajime lightly in case he'd come to realize the truth about his fate if he stuck with Nagito. "I'd be dead within a year."

Hajime's eyes teared. "Then I'll- I'll make damn sure that's the best year you ever live, okay? We'll have fun every day, we'll do anything you want. You don't deserve this Nagito, you-" His voice broke, and he began to sob as the hopelessness of their situation set in. Nagito was correct, no matter what they did he would inevitably die. 

"It's not worth the heartbreak on your part, Hajime." he said, hugging him tighter. "You should leave me and forget about me and I'll dutifully disappear," he promised, rubbing his face in his neck.   
"That was the plan from the start anyway:"

"I told you, I can't. I'll always remember you, Nagito." Hajime whispered, voice hoarse. "I love you, so don't you dare disappear, you hear me?" He squeezed Nagito tighter for emphasis, feeling Nagito's breath hitch by his neck. 

"You shouldn't. You should just leave me and drown the memories in new ones and I should just get on with the plans I had from the very start," he said, swallowing hard and cuddled down in his arms. 

"You don't want that," Hajime said, stroking Nagito's back comfortingly. "I know you don't want that. And I don't want this either, so stop, okay? Just relax for me, please."

Nagito tensed up in his arms. "Sometimes you're really stupid, Hajime." he murmured, and relaxed, hiccuping from crying now and then.

"Hey..." Hajime complained softly, but he was smiling. He held Nagito as he cried, feeling his tears stain his white shirt, but he couldn't care less. "There you go, I'm here. It's okay." He murmured softly, stroking Nagito's hair gently and waiting out his crying spell.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with this.." He said with an awkward laugh, "I'm so sorry I even roped you into this from the very start."

"I'm not," Hajime said reassuringly. "I'm happy I can be here and help, so please don't worry about me." He hugged Nagito tighter, his chin resting on Nagito's white hair. Hajime didn't know how long they sat there, but he honestly didn't care.

"I should've just died at the very start as planned," he muttered quietly after a long pause of listening to Hajime's steady breathing and the whirring of the AC.

Hajime tightened his grip around Nagito's body. "Don't you ever say something so horrible;" He choked, biting back more tears. "You can't say that. I love you. If you died I'd-" He couldn't complete the sentence, so Hajime buried his head in Nagito's white hair instead, stifling a sob.

Nagito reached up to stroke Hajime's hair, surprised at getting such a negative reaction. It had probably been his brightest plan since he arrived here yet Hajime reacted so negatively, like it was a bad thing. "Sometimes I don't understand you," he said softly, stroking the spikes of his boyfriend.

"Promise me-" Hajime insisted shakily. "Promise me you won't try something like that again, Nagito. I care too much about you, and if you- If you--" He shook his head. "Just promise you'll be careful, okay?"

"Why not? I seriously don't get you.." He murmured but in the end he promised. "I just don't get why you want to keep someone as vile and disgusting and worthless as me alive."

"Because I love you," Hajime said simply, wiping his eyes. "You are so very precious to me Nagito, and it makes me sad that you can't see that for yourself. I love you so much."

"Why? I'm just a waste of life and resources," he told him matter-of-factly. " Nagito let go of Hajime to face him, his brain not allowing him to understand.

Hajime looked at him sadly, cupping his face in his hands. "You really can't see it, can you? How incredible you are. Can you see the way I look at you then?" He asked gently. Hajime knew that Nagito's dementia was probably to blame for this, but he'll be damned if he let something like that win. Hajime would prove to Nagito how amazing, strong, intelligent and wonderful he was, no matter what it took.

"Yes, but I don't understand it. I don't understand it but I feel it," he said, cupping Hajime's cheeks and almost glared at him, eyes full of burning affection.

"Nobody understands that, Nagito. Not really. You'll always be a thousand times more critical of yourself in your own head than the rest of the world. That's where the trust comes in." He stroked his thumb over Nagito's wet cheek, wiping away the tears. "You have to trust that I mean it when I say I love you, and I'll trust that you feel the same. Do you think you can try to do that for me?"

"I'll do my best," he promised, kissing Hajime's tear-stained cheeks. "I'll do my very best to trust you. You and the hope within you."

Hajime let out a teary laugh. "That's- that's all I can ask for. Truly, thank you Nagito. I love you do much." He said giving Nagito a proper kiss on his lips.

"... I love you too, even though you're a stubborn idiot sometimes," he muttered affectionately. "So how about that mattress suit?"

"Please, spare me. I'd die from heat if anything." Hajime laughed. He knew Nagito's issues were far from resolved, but he felt they'd taken a big step in the right direction. Hajime wouldn't give up trying to help Nagito, just as Nagito would never give up on Hajime. For now, that was all they needed.

"As I see it it would only be convenient. You would be protected from cutting yourself on anything and you could nap anywhere you'd like," he pointed out, trying to ironically sell his idea.

"Well" Hajime mused, laying his head on Nagito's shoulder. "I can still do that, don't you think?" He closed his eyes, pretending to fall asleep.

"Now you're the male version of Nanami. Maybe I should pitch my idea to her instead." he laughed softly, running his hand through Hajime's hair.

"She'd probably appreciate it, as long as she could hold a gaming console whilst wearing it." Hajime agreed, relishing in the feeling of Nagito's fingers in his hair. He hadn't realized how badly he'd wanted Nagito's touch since the other usually only touched him when he'd been asked or Hajime had instigated it. Hajime had known how the conversation would end (Ah- someone like me is too filthy to touch someone as amazing as you, Hajime) so he'd never brought it up. He hadn't realized how electric Nagito's touch would feel though, and now he never wanted it to end.

"Is this okay?" he wondered, rubbing tiny circles by his temples.

Hajime hummed contentedly in response, closing his eyes and letting the sensation of Nagito's hands on his skin wash over him. "Yeah... This is nice..." He said.

"Agreed," he said in a hushed voice, paranoia still gnawing in the back of his head. "Wanna stay like this for a little while?"

Hajime nodded. Then he caught himself, they needed to make sense of this now, so that it didn't happen again. "Nagito, please could you tell me what happened? What caused this?"

"I just realized what danger you're in and what's going to happen to you if you stay with me," he said, letting Hajime's hair go. 

"Yeah but..." But we've had this conversation before, Hajime thought. "Okay, well how do you feel now?" He pressed. He needed to formulate a strategy to deal with this, since he doubted this spell would be Nagito's last.

"I'm still scared and I think you're being stupid and stubborn, but I love you anyway," he said, deciding to trust Hajime for once and hugged him, pressing a tiny kiss to his forehead. 

Hajime nodded. That was the best he was going get, he supposed. He'd never be able to fully remove Nagito's fear, but then again he would never be able to remove his own either. That was just the situation they were in. "That's good, I'm happy. I love you too, Nagito." 

Nagito felt a spur of anxiety rile up inside him at Hajime's love confession but pushed it down by squeezing him and rubbed his puffy eyes on his shoulder. It was going to be okay, Hajime had promised him and he needed to trust him.

Hajime slowly raised his head, wiping his eyes and looking at Nagito blearily. "God I'm tired.." He muttered, stifling a yawn. The warmth of Nagito's embrace combined with the scent of coconut from his hair was making him dizzy. "You make for a comfortable pillow, Nagito."

"Maybe we should nap here for a while?" he suggested. "Or not here, but in one of the rooms." Nagito too was tired, his usual fatigue only being amplified from having cried over Hajime's stupidity. 

Hajime nodded slowly. "Mm, carry me Nagito." He said, letting his eyes fall shut again. Mentally sparring with Nagito was always draining, but after this particular time he felt more tired than usual. A combination of the physical fatigue and the emotional roller coaster he'd endured, no doubt.

"Okay." he agreed, with much effort getting up with Hajime in his arms. Hajime was quickly put down on the ground though, as Nagito too was tired, had fractured wrists, needed to get a room key and wasn't very hyped for dropping Hajime on the ground. "Sorry, I just need a second." he apologized as he caught his breath and fetched a key from behind the lobby before attempting again to pick Hajime up. 

Hajime spun around, catching his hands in the middle of the action. "Actually, that was a stupid request," He smiled. "Let's just walk there, okay? You can carry me once your wrists have healed." He laughed at Nagito's disappointed expression.

"I hope it doesn't take too long." he pouted and the two set off to the room Nagito had randomly selected. As soon as he unlocked the door the two of them crashed into bed, Nagito groaning. "I'm gonna nap so hard I become comatose." he joked into the fluff of the blanket. 

Hajime yawned in agreement, already feeling the fatigue wash over him and making his eyelids feel heavy. "I'm too tired to exist," he complained, rubbing his hands over his shut eyes.

"In hindsight, crying was a bad idea." he murmured, inching closer to Hajime to bury his nose in the nape of his neck. Not long after both of the boys were fast asleep. What they didn't think of was the eHandbook, which displayed their positions at all times.


	18. In which we get rom-com conflicts and also Fuyuhiko should really take payment for his therapy services.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're baaack! 
> 
> Over. 100. Kudos. What the hell guys??? You're amazing!   
> Big thanks to everyone who's left kudos and commented. It means the world.   
> (Im gonna go get some sleep now bye. Enjoy the chapter)

Hajime woke up, feeling much clearer in the head after sleeping. He looked down at Nagito who was still sleeping, his braid having gone disheveled sometime during the nap. He yawned, and pulled his arms off Nagito, stretching his rigid limbs. 

Nagito soon awoke too from the relentless stirring beside him, groaning as he woke up and rubbed his face in the pillow, not exactly enthusiastic about waking up just yet. "Good morning," he muttered into the pillow. 

Throwing a glance at the clock on the wall, Hajime answered, "Well it's 7:30 PM, but okay. Good morning Nagito." He kissed the other's forehead. "Sorry for waking you,"

"It's fine, we should probably head back to the hotel anyway." he sighed and sat up, rubbing his eyes. His head pounded and spun, most likely from dehydration and he was still exhausted from crying. "Dinner should be served about now, no?"

Hajime nodded. "Nagito, you okay? You look pale," He asked, concern evident in his tone. He stood up, yawning and stretching as he did, and then turned to face the other who was still sitting on the edge.

"Yeah, I'm good. I think I'll go to bed immediately after dinner though," he said, rubbing his head and took out the (very) messy braid and tied it up in a tiny ponytail before standing up, quite a bit woozy. "And I'm always pale Hajime, it's like my trademark feature. I'm secretly a vampire and that's why I burn so easily." he joked. 

Hajime snorted, letting the subject go for now. "Yeah, a vampire with cotton candy for hair and puppy dog eyes." He teased as they exited the Motel and started to walk toward the first island.

"Be careful, otherwise I might come to drink your blood tonight!" he exclaimed, bounding up behind him and nibbled his shoulder. "Mioda was the first vampire- I'm surprised you haven't transformed yet after she bit you on the first night." 

"Oh no, I'm terrified!" Hajime shouted in mock fear, running a few steps ahead. "Someone please save me!"

"It's too late! The puppy/cotton candy/vampire hybrid has already had a taste! I'll be waiting for you tonight." he growled playfully and jogged up to him, out of breath after only a few steps. "Besides, you're way more puppy than me."

"I'd beg to differ," Hajime said, flicking Nagito's ponytail playfully. "Only one of us has literal clouds on their head and it isn't me."

"No, you're more of a lollipop with your ahoge." Nagito snickered, smiling for himself and wrapped his jacket tightly around him.

Hajime's cheeks flushed. "I'll have you know, my ahoge is not for licking!" He said, indignantly. 

"No, but the head attached to it is very kissable." he smiled at him. "Do you think there'll be any new foods on the buffet tonight?"

Hajime reddened and wow, there his heart went again. He wondered if he'd ever experience a day with regularly paced heart rate again. Probably not.   
"I don't know," He answered after composing himself. "I guess we could always cook if you wanted?"

"We'd probably have to cook for everyone else too if they for some reason would want to eat something I cooked." he chuckled, voice dripping with bitter self-depreciation. "And I'm too tired to even come up with something edible."

"Okay, yeah that's fair. We don't want to set anything on fire by falling asleep." Hajime agreed. "Also Nagito, your cooking is great, so don't talk like that." He insisted as they walked through the gate to the Hotel area. They saw nobody on the way to the Hotel but figured that they'd all gone in already. They were kind of late, after all.

"Should we- should we walk in together?" Nagito asked, stomach curling in on itself as he imagined what they might face upstairs. "Or do you wanna go alone?" 

"Well, I don't see a problem walking in together unless you don't want to?" Hajime said somewhat uncertainly. He was also a little worried about what their classmates would say, but he believed that they wouldn't act rashly. 

"I don't mind, I just don't want you to get hurt," he said, rubbing his wrists. "It shouldn't matter, but it's up to you," he said with a small laugh for himself, imagining Hajime tied up in chains, just like he was a while ago. "Maybe it's for the best if we go separate ways?"

Nagito didn't get to execute his plan though, as Gundham was out on the balcony, talking with Sonia and caught sight of them. Sonia clapped her hands, looking absolutely delighted, but Gundham fixed them with an icy glare. "Hmph, you fiend-" He said, to nobody in particular, Hajime assumed. 

"Hey guys," He greeted, going over to the food buffet and gathering some food. Out of nowhere, Souda appeared, grabbing his arm. "Dude what? Don't do that, I could have dropped my plate!" Hajime said, looking at him confusedly.

"We need to talk, preferably elsewhere," he said, gripping his arm hard. 

Soda pulled him with him out towards the kitchen, casting a nervous glance back at Nagito who'd gotten swept up in conversation with Sonia and Chiaki.

"Okay, what's up?" Hajime said, placing his plate on a nearby table. "What was so important you couldn't wait until after dinner?"

"Are you okay man?" Souda asked in a mellow voice. "Like, is everything alright?" frowning, he leaned back on a countertop.

Hajime blinked at him confusedly. "Well yeah, kind of hungry but I'm fine. What brought this on, Souda?"

"We saw you on the map earlier, and I just want you to know that if Komaeda has you trapped you can tell us, I'll always be there to help a brother out," Souda said, voicing his concerns to Hajime.

Hajime was glad he'd put down his plate because he would have dropped it in shock otherwise. "What the hell? Souda what are you talking about? Why would I be "trapped"?"

"You know, wrapped around his little finger, blackmailing you or anything-" Kazuichi said, scratching his neck. "You know what I mean- I mean he's Komaeda, right?" he laughed awkwardly. "You get it, right?"

"You think- Souda no, that's not true at all," Hajime said, feeling relieved. Souda was just jumping to conclusions, nothing bad was happening.   
"I know it might not seem like it, but Nagito really isn't as horrible as he'd like us to believe. He's hurting more than any of us, and there are... reasons for his actions, even if I can't tell you what they are."

"You should take what he tells you with a grain of salt, you remember how he fooled us all in the first trial, how do you know he's not just manipulating you?" Souda said. "Listen, I've really thought this through and even if you like guys then- Komaeda isn't someone you should be around." the pink haired dude warned.

Hajime groaned. "Souda look, you don't know him. That first trial was... He's not going to attempt anything like that again, okay?" Souda looked unconvinced, and Hajime was starting to get irritated. "Look, you can't tell me what to do, Souda. You're going to have to trust me when I say I'm fine, okay?"

"Hinata, listen to me! First of all, I don't get it. Why would you, if you had to go after guys, go after him of all people? He's unstable and you can't trust him and- and sleeping around with him might not be one of your brightest ideas. He just tries to deceive us either way." Souda frowned, getting frustrated over the fact that Hinata didn't listen. The proof was all there, Komaeda was a deluded maniac who'd only cause them all harm.   
"He tried to instigate the first killing, he has murderous intent." 

"What the hell does, "If you had to go after guys" mean?" Hajime asked testily, getting more and more irritated by the second. "Is it Nagito, or me you have a problem with Souda?"

"No- Listen, I'm fine with it if you're, you know... gay. That's fine with me, I just don't get it. But Komaeda isn't a good guy. I don't want you to get manipulated and used in some evil scheme against us." Souda sighed. "Maybe you're in too deep, you're already calling that lunatic by his first name..."

"Don't call him that!" Hajime seethed.

"I've already told you, he won't do anything like that! Nagito didn't show us his true colors at all during that trial, he just wanted us to think that he did! He's hurting more than anyone else on this island right now, so don't you dare call him a lunatic. You have no idea what he's been through!"   
Hajime felt anger course through his veins and had to clench his fists to stop them from shaking. 

"Can't you see he's just telling you whatever he's telling you to manipulate you?! He has you in the palm of his hand, but maybe it's too late for you to realize that." Souda spat back.   
"Whatever, come and talk to me when you've figured it out yourself and want out and you're not too deluded by whatever fuckery you two are up to," he said disgusted and stormed out of the kitchen, grabbing an apple on his way out of the restaurant and headed back to his cottage. 

Hajime crossed his arms as he walked away, unsure of what exactly had happened. He felt both angry, disappointed and sad at the same time, and he realized he didn't know how to fix this. He'd been bracing himself, but he'd never realized that someone would take things this far. Most of all he felt betrayed. Souda had been his friend, and thinking that he'd just refuse to listen like that made Hajime feel like maybe their friendship hadn't been genuine after all. He sighed, looking over at his abandoned plate by the table to his right. He'd been starving when he got to the dining hall, but somehow he didn't feel like eating anymore. 

"What happened in there?" Kuzuryuu asked from a nearby table as Hinata walked past. "It's not my place to ask but are you okay?"

"I- I'm not sure," Hajime said truthfully. He was still processing the exchange. "Souda was... well he was throwing accusations at me and Nagito for no good reason, and I got mad, I guess." 

"Oh. Yeah, I could see why. Wanna sit down?" he asked, pulling his stuff closer to himself to give Hajime some room. 

Hajime nodded, sitting down opposite Fuyuhiko and leaning his face in his hands. "I don't know what even brought this on, you know? Like, he was fine yesterday, and today when we went diving."

"Maybe it just hit him that you might be more than friends today? We kinda saw your icons in the same motel room," he said, and just as every teenage boy ever to be put in that situation, he blushed.   
"It's really none of our business, so you don't have to specify or clarify anything just, that's what he saw," Fuyuhiko told him. "He sees you as his best friend you know?"

Hajime huffed. "Well, if he does he should be happy for me, not judge my choice of partner. He knows nothing about Nagito in the first place, so what right does he think he has to meddle?!"

"I can't do anything but agree with you, but try to look at it from his perspective? He probably felt betrayed or something like that. Don't listen to me, I'm not a therapist." Fuyuhiko sighed. "Plus we haven't gotten to see the sides of Komaeda which you have, so we're bound to have differentiating opinions."

Hajime sighed. "Well, he still doesn't have the right to throw accusations... If he'd just *listen* to me, but he's deluded himself into thinking I'm somehow brainwashed or something, I don't even know."

"You aren't?" Fuyuhiko joked, casting a glance over to where Nagito was being interrogated by Sonia.

Hajime threw a glance at his untouched plate of food. "You know what? If he wants to apologize he can, but I did nothing wrong." He stood and grabbed his plate. "Thanks, Fuyuhiko, I'm calmer now." He looked over at Nagito, wondering if he could interrupt them since he could see that Nagito hadn't eaten anything either.

 

Meanwhile, Nagito had been caught by Sonia and Chiaki and was mid-interrogation about his now flat hair and whatever he and Hajime had done during the day

Hajime approached them slowly, and Sonia waved him over excitedly. "Hinata-san! Have you eaten yet? Please, come and join us!" He thanked her and sat down next to Nagito, finally getting to eat his dinner.

"I'm passing the baton onto you now." Nagito murmured and finally managed to escape to go fetch himself a plate of dinner, this time settling for a boiled egg and some fried squid rice, once again no vegetables.

"So, do indulge us, how did you and Komaeda-san entertain yourselves today," Sonia asked with a smug smile.

Hajime looked confused. "Well, we went diving. You were there, remember?" He took a sip of orange juice and met Sonia's unconvinced gaze. "Seriously! We just relaxed after that"

"Did you see any mermaids out in the ocean?" Chiaki asked curiously. "You have to be careful with them."  
"Mermaids?" Sonia asked, eyes lighting up at the mention of the supernatural.

Meanwhile, Nagito took his time taking rice, trying to get as few octopus pieces as possible.

"Yeah, they sink your submarine and eat you," Chiaki said completely deadpan, chewing on a grape.  
"Don't take her too seriously." Hajime warned, pouring a second glass of orange juice and placing it in front of Nagito. At his questioning glance, he said "Vitamins, remember? They're kind of essential for living."

"Fun fact, you can survive on just potatoes and milk," Nagito told them and tested the waters by slowly sitting down with his place. As if he wasn't welcome anymore. "But thank you for caring."  
"Is it okay if I sit here?"

Hajime looked at him confusedly. "Yeah, of course, it's your spot after all. And-" He reached over and placed a cherry tomato on Nagito's plate. "And it may be possible to survive on only potato and milk, but you're not testing that out." He said, placing more greens on Nagito's plate.

"Give it here instead," Nagito said, opening his mouth as he sat down and took his chopsticks and cut the egg in half.

Hajime glanced over at Sonia and Chiaki, but they were engrossed in a conversation about supernatural mermaids and were paying him and Nagito no mind.   
He looked back at his boyfriend, quickly picking up a piece of grilled carrot and holding it up to his mouth before he could get embarrassed. "Here, eat up," He said, proud that he managed to mask the embarrassment in his voice.

"Thanks." Nagito didn't succeed as well as Hajime, his voice ended up cracking but that could be excused as choking on the carrot.

Hajime looked away, blushing. Doing something like *feeding* Nagito was embarrassing enough as is, but they were in public... Still, the blush on the other's face was too cute to ignore. "Sure, let me know if you want more." He said, trying his best to sound smooth, and not like an embarrassed teenager (which of course he was).

"Yeah." he did, regret and embarrassment lighting up his face. He was now matching the tomato he'd gotten from Hajime.

"So anyway, Hinata-san, you've been spending a lot of time with Komaeda-san lately, right? How did you guys get so close?" Sonia asked, something devilish glinting in her gaze despite her innocent smile. 

"Well, I guess..." Hajime said. "It just sort of happened? Like we started talking and things just kind of escalated." He looked at Nagito, inwardly pleading for a more articulate way of describing their relationship without saying "I love him" (Poor Hajime still thought their relationship was secret..)

Nagito gave Hajime a small smile and finished his egg before giving up on chopsticks and escaped the table again to get a spoon. "Should I get anything for anyone?"

"I mean, if you could bring the pitcher of orange juice I'd be eternally grateful," Hajime said, having already drained the one on the table. Chiaki hummed, "Are there more grapes? In that case, I'd like some more grapes." Sonia smiled brightly. "Having friends who help each other out.. this was something I never experienced back in Novoselic. Thank you, Komaeda-san!"

 

"No problem," he said, excusing himself to go find orange juice for his boyfriend, grapes for Nanami and a spoon to eat his fried rice.

Fuyuhiko soon decided he was lonely by his table and moved over to them, Akane following pretty soon after and so the interrogation of Hajime Hinata began.

"Have you confessed to him yet?" Akane asked, the entire bunch of them desperate for something happy happening in the grieving of their lost classmates.

"Of course he has! Why else would they be going to the motel /alone/?" Fuyuhiko argued.

"I dunno, back in the day some of the customers I waitressed for didn't care 'but that." Akane shrugged and kept eating.

"I- I what?" Hajime asked, face burning.

"To Komaeda, of course!" Akane said, biting off a chunk of meat with frightening ferocity. "No need to be scared, Hinata. I mean, I got confessed to twice per day back home." 

"I- that is so not the point here," Hajime argued. "What would I even have to confess in the first place?" He asked, still blissfully in denial. 

Over the table, Sonia burst out in giggles. Hajime looked at her strangely.  
"I'm sorry Hinata-san, that's just too funny!" She said between laughs.

"Yeah Hinata, everyone here knows about your crush. You weren't exactly subtle about it.." Fuyuhiko pointed out, smiling bemusedly. 

"I- oh... well then," Hajime said, as reality suddenly hit him in the face.

"Yeah, so tell us more?" Chiaki pled. "Who asked who out first?" she wondered curiously, hoping to win some Monokuma coins if she won this bet.

"Why do you even want to know?!" Hajime asked indignantly, but all he got were stares.   
"Fine, I guess I confessed first, although it looks a while for me to convince him to take me seriously. Happy now?"

Very." she grinned and turned to the others. "Pay up."

Nagito took this time to return with the grapes and orange juice, holding his spoon in his mouth.

"You were betting on this?!" Hajime asked disgruntedly. "You guys are awful."

"No, there's a console I wanna get from the monomachine at rocketpunch." Chiaki explained as if that would excuse anything.

"Beccing ong wha-?" Nagito asked and put the stuff down. "Sorry, I shouldn't have interrupted."

"It's fine," Hajime said, taking the pitcher of orange juice out of his hands. "These guys are being awful...Can you believe they bet on which one of us would confess first?!" He said, sounding just a little more scandalized than he actually felt.

"Oh- we don't have to go out if you don't want to..." He murmured quietly and sat down in his seat. "It's safer for you anyway."

"We have had this conversation already Nagito, now sit down and eat your rice." Hajime prompted, wanting to distract him from another despair episode like earlier that day. 

"Oh! I remembered something just now. It was a term Ibuki used that I, unfortunately, am unfamiliar with. I believe she wanted to ask you "who bottoms?" I'd like to bring forth the question in her stead." Sonia said brightly, smiling like the sun.

Nagito tensed up, his heart beginning to race as he choked up when he was gonna answer. "Uhm- we haven't-" he silenced himself with a spoonful of rice and pled silently to the gods or whoever decided over their fate that Hajime wouldn't mind answering.

Hajime dropped his chopsticks in surprise at the question. He heard Nagito's sputtered attempt at answering, and decided to give it a go for himself. "Yeah um, we have only really been together for three days so..." He stated lamely, completely missing the look of gratitude he got from Nagito in favor of staring down at his plate in embarrassment.

"Thank you, I don't mind hearing about you two but when it comes to your private lives I'm uninterested." Fuyuhiko laughed relieved. By now Gundham joined them too.

Nagito decided then and there that it was time for him to disappear off to his room so he shoveled in as much rice as he could until he was full (which honestly wasn't a lot) and then excused himself quietly to Hajime.

Hajime looked after him as he left, feeling oddly abandoned.

"Oh, I wonder if he got mad or something..." Chiaki said slowly. "We didn't mean anything bad about it."

Hajime nodded. "I know that. I'll go see what's up." He excused himself to follow Nagito outside.

"Hey." he greeted when Hajime came up to his side. "I'm just not feeling so great so I'm gonna go to bed. You don't have to come with."

"Are you sure? It's okay to be upset, you know," Hajime asked concernedly. He didn't know what had upset Nagito, but it must have been significant to get him so riled up. He carefully slid his hand into Nagito, hoping that would comfort him somewhat.

"Thank you for taking that one." he smiled softly, looking up at him. "It's just when Sonia began asking about that I kinda began to freak out," he said quietly and glared at the ground, but enjoying the comfort of Hajime's hand in his.

"Well... I don't think Sonia really understood what she was asking, but yeah. That was uncomfortable for me too." Hajime said, shaking his head slowly. "I think they got the message though, Chiaki even apologized before."

"Yeah. What happened between you and Souda by the way?" he asked, braiding their hands together loosely.

Hajime looked down at their hands. "I'm not... sure. He had some questionable things to say about our relationship, and I got angry. He ran off, and I guess he hasn't been back." He worded it as carefully as possible, wanting to make sure Nagito understood that Souda was at fault, not him.

"Oh. Yeah, I can understand Søda in some way. You shouldn't be in a relationship with me, you're most likely going to be hurt." he said and sat down by the edge of the pool and took off his shoes.

"Come on, Nagito. The reason I got mad in the first place was because he was insulting you! Like, he had absolutely no right!" Hajime said, still feeling the irritation from earlier. 

"What did he say?" Nagito dared to ask and stuck his feet down into the lukewarm, blue water.

"Nothing. He called you a" lunatic" and said you were apparently manipulating me. In other words, stupid things that aren't true. You shouldn't worry about it." Hajime sat down beside Nagito, tucking his feet beneath him.

"Ouch. What if I am though? Manipulating you, I mean. Maybe I have telepathic powers. Maybe I'm an esper~" he snickered and laid down. 

Hajime laughed. "Oh no, I'm so scared! Your mind control powers are possessing me to do this!" He said, leaning in and kissing Nagito on the mouth.

"You've uncovered my secret! Now you can break the spell!" Nagito burst out giggling and took out his ponytail. "I like you, Hajime. And the only reason I dare tell you this is because I have mind controlled you to do the same." 

Hajime laughed again, reaching out to run his hand through Nagito's newly released hair. "I like you too Nagito," He smiled.

Nagito smiled warmly up at him, enjoying the gentle caress with a hum and so he instigated the next kiss, the two really connecting and deepened the kiss at a pace they were both comfortable with.

Now, making out by the poolside with Nagito Komaeda had been far from Hajime's bucket list when he'd woken up that morning, but he was thoroughly enjoying the opportunity. Everything disappeared, their surroundings melting away as all Hajime could think about was Nagito's lips on his.

Unfortunately, this same magic did not shield them from the outside world, as someone was less than pleased with their "escapades".  
"Ahem! Noo this isn't allowed at all! I worked so hard to make sure this could be rated E for everyone and you guys are completely undercutting my work!" A shrill voice rang out, not that Hajime noticed.

Nagito on the other hand suddenly became very aware of the situation and placed his hands on Hajime's chest and gently nudged him away, sat up and spun around to look at the one talking.

Hajime blinked down at him, confused, before he also turned around, face growing red as he came eye to eye with Monokuma.

"Such unsightly behavior is absolutely forbidden!"   
Monokuma shrieked, somewhat emulating an overprotective parent or teacher (something that was highly disturbing, considering the circumstances.)

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hajime asked, embarrassment and irritation coloring his words.

"Oh god..." Nagito pulled his feet out of the pool and buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath before facing the robot bear.

"Honestly... I even made sure the blood wasn't explicit, and here you are! Almost ruining my hard work just to satisfy your sexual desires! Shameful!" Monokuma paused for dramatic effect, despite his audience being less than thrilled to listen.   
"Well... If you're going to keep being this naughty in public I might have to.. Upupupu Punish you!" He laughed loudly, and Hajime felt a shiver go through his spine. 

"Punish? What do you mean? You're not allowed to kill us unless we break a rule, right?" He laid a hand on Nagito's waist protectively, glaring at the bear. 

"Well... technicalities..." Monokuma sighed, "Oh but you're right, guess I can't kill you. But how about this then? I'll introduce an extra motive, just for you tomorrow! That'll liven things up a little!"

"Well if they didn't hate me before they're definitely going to hate me now," Nagito muttered to himself, hugging his knees.

As Mokokuma sauntered off, Hajime rubbed Nagito's back soothingly. "Hey, it's not your fault at all. He would have found an excuse to come up with something like this anyway, and it's not like it was explicitly stated that things like this were banned in public. Don't worry about it Nagito, let's just go and get some sleep, okay?"

With a sigh, Nagito got up and waited for Hajime. "Yeah, let's go sleep." he agreed. "And let's hope that monokuma excludes this part tomorrow."

Hajime nodded, following Nagito to the cabins. He pulled open his door, only to get smothered by an intense wave of coconut-scented perfume. He coughed, backing away from the door. "We left the window open and it's still this bad?! What on earth was in that oil?"

"I have no idea but it did the trick. You could sleep in my bed tonight, I'll take your room." Nagito offered.

"Nagito you will literally die of asphyxiation in there. I'm starting to wonder if the coconuts are alive and eating through the oxygen" Hajime said, groaning.   
"Man, all my things are gonna smell like coconut for the foreseeable future. Well, I guess that includes those awful plushies so it's not all bad..."

"Wouldn't it be funny if the monokuma plushies suddenly began smelling of something else? Like tuna." he snickered and handed Hajime his room key. "I'm getting some real deja vu right now."

"Ugh don't tempt Monokuma," Hajime said. "Listen, how about we just sleep together like before."   
Different word choice, Hajime. "Um I mean- like sleep, in the same room."

"Either that or- yeah. I'll take the floor." Nagito said compliantly. "We should probably get your blanket and pillow though."

"Yeah, that's not happening. We'll both fit on the bed, Nagito." Hajime said, opening the door again. The stench was overwhelming, but Hajime figured he could afford a quick dive in.  
"Okay, I'll go in and get my things then, wait for me."

"Alright, if you insist," he said, holding up the door for Hajime while he once again tortured his lungs. 

Hajime rushed out of the room, nose scrunched in discomfort. He was carrying his blanket and pillows in his arms. "Okay shut the god damn door, I don't think these smell too much," He said, gesturing to the objects in his arms.

"Great, want me to take them?" Nagito offered, holding out his arms and closed the door with his foot.

Hajime shrugged, holding out the pillows for Nagito to take, while he carried the blanket. They entered Nagito's cottage together, throwing the stuff on the bed and sitting down on it.   
"I hope monokuma doesn't try anything again..." Hajime said slowly, staring at the roof.

"If he does I'll fight him." Nagito muttered and buried his face in his pillows. "Do you want me to take these? Since I already smell like your pillows."

"Well, you'll end up clinging to me anyway." Hajime teased. He lay down on the bed, legs dangling off the side and arms crossed behind his head.

"Shut up. Maybe this stuff could help with your spikes." he murmured and crawled into bed next to Hajime.

Hajime snorted. "My hair is fine, thank you very much." He pulled his hand through his hair self consciously.

"Yeah, it's fine." Nagito snickered in agreement and wrapped his arms around Hajime's waist. "It's very fine."

Hajime sighed contentedly. "Man today was... eventful. What I wouldn't give for some peace. Guess we won't get that for a while though, even if Monokuma doesn't tempt us into another murder. Whatever the motive is, it's bound to be chaotic."

"Most likely, yes. Can I ask something of you?" Nagito asked, closing his eyes and buried his face in the nape of Hajime's neck.

"Of course," Hajime said, leaning into Nagito's touch. "What is it?"

"When the motive is revealed, unless you want to kill me, can you stick close by? I don't want to let you out of my sight only to find you dead." Nagito asked, stroking Hajime's hair.

Hajime nodded. "Yeah, I'd- I'd like that too. And please don't talk like that, Nagito. You can't die, okay?" He shuddered as the words immediately brought a myriad of different worst-case scenarios into his head. "You have to promise me you'll do what you can to stay alive, please?"

"If it's what you need, then sure," Nagito promised. "But then you have to prove to me that your hope is the greatest of them all," Nagito mumbled confidently, daring to press a kiss behind Hajime's ear. "Can you do that for me?"

"How the hell do I do that? Is there a scale of this or-" Hajime said sarcastically. "Do I have to pray to hope before every meal?"

"I believe in you, and I believe that you can do it." Nagito smiled and laid his head back down on the pillow and hugged him, his breathing soon slowing to a sleeping pace. "Good night, Hajime."

"Yeah, good night Nagito," Hajime whispered, pulling the covers over both of them. He found the coconut smell to actually be somewhat calming, probably since he'd been inhaling it from Nagito for the majority of the day.   
Hajime let his eyes fall shut, falling asleep with a smile on his lips.


	19. Monokuma would like to interrupt the barrage of fluff and angst to remind us that we Are In A Killing Game.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> We've hit over 2000 hits since the last chapter went up, which is Insane. Thank you to everyone who's read, and especially to all of the lovely commenters that have left their thoughts on the fic so far.  
> Even if it's just something short, reading them is very inspirational and makes both of our days, so Thank you!
> 
> Enjoy today's chapter!

The next morning the two boys woke up to the monokuma announcement, Nagito's hair in knots.   
"Every morning I get more and more annoyed with his voice." Nagito groaned into Hajime's neck before sitting up and yawned. 

Hajime nodded, having woken up at the shrill sounds as well. "Looks like we're gonna have to brush out your hair again," He commented, reaching out to twirl a white lock between his fingers.

"Well, judging by the smell I'd say we're safe," he said, rubbing his face. "So today we're getting new motives, aren't we? Let's have a peaceful breakfast before that." 

Hajime nodded. "Let's go meet up with the others, hopefully, monokuma gives us a respite before giving out the motive." He sat up and climbed off the bed, squinting against the harsh sun that streamed through the windows.

"I'm gonna go borrow your bathroom to shower," Nagito said, getting up to fetch his towel. "Unless you want me to do it here?"

"What do you mean borrow? We're in *your* cottage, Nagito." Hajime said amusedly. 

"Yeah, but I was talking about your bathroom. You can use mine which doesn't smell as much of coconut. Unless you don't want me in your bathroom. I don't have to shower at all if you don't want to, it's just I sweat a lot when I sleep, and I'm sorry for that, but I can't help it-" Nagito offered, pulling out a clean pair of clothes from his drawers. 

"Oh, alright. I guess that would be awkward. Man, we really need to get some shower curtains or something," Hajime said.   
"Well, of course, you can borrow it." Hajime assumed trying to convince Nagito to stay in his own cottage would be futile, so he figured it best to just agree. He dug his room key out of his pants pocket and handed it to Nagito. "How about we meet up after we've gotten ready and head to breakfast together?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. We could go look for curtains if we get some free time before Monokuma decides to have teenagers kill again." he yawned and took the key to Hajime's room. 

Hajime nodded, even though Nagito had already shut the door. He rubbed his eyes and quickly freshened up, taking a shower and getting dressed. He washed his hair, causing it to spike up more than usual, and hoped to god Nagito wouldn't comment.

Nagito soon finished too, his hair still flat, albeit a bit more fluffy and a little less coconut-scented, and headed over to his cottage and sat down outside to wait for Hajime, not wanting to bother him by knocking.

Hajime exited his cabin, finding Nagito sitting outside, waiting for him. He gave a small wave as Nagito got up and joined him, walking beside him toward the Hotel. "Whatever happens today, we'll stay close to each other, right?" He asked, grabbing Nagito's hand.

"Yeah," he nodded. "That seems like a good plan. Honestly, it'd be beneficial if we all could get over whatever motive monokuma presents us with. As long as it's not something life-threatening like last time." he said, stroking Hajime's hand with his thumb.   
"Prevent a killing," he said, not believing his words the slightest. 

"Yeah-" Hajime agreed, taking a breath to calm himself. "Yeah nobody is going to kill anybody. We'll beat this." He made his best to put on a confident and determined expression, unsure if he was trying to comfort Nagito or himself. 

"You'll get through this, I promise. Both you and your windpipes will be safe throughout whatever's coming at us." Nagito promised as they walked by the pool and went up the stairs outside to the restaurant. 

As they entered, Sonia waved at them brightly from her spot by the windows.  
"Hinata-san, Komaeda-san, good morning!"

She smiled at them, and Hajime waved back. Also in the dining hall were Chiaki with her head drooping in front of a bowl of rice, Akane who had already begun wolfing down practically half the buffet, and Souda who was staring out the window from one corner of the room. Hajime tried to catch his eye, but he stubbornly kept his gaze out the window so eventually, he shrugged and went to gather breakfast.

Nagito quickly assembled his usual breakfast and went up to Chiaki and Sonia. "May I sit here?" he asked, holding his plate of untoasted toast and an orange. 

Hajime joined him shortly after, bringing with him (as usual) a bowl of rice and a pitcher of orange juice. They sat down opposite the girls and began eating.  
"So, did we miss anything important yesterday?" Hajime asked, aiming his question at Sonia since Chiaki looked like she was drooling in her rice.

"Monomi showed up and there was a minor dispute over how nobody went after to check on Souda after he stormed out," Sonia told them with a frown and cut a slice of her omelet. 

Hajime glanced at Souda over his shoulder, but the other was still pretending to not see him. "So Monomi showed up? What did she say?" Hajime asked instead, pouring a glass of orange juice for Nagito before he could protest.

"She told us that we must stick together and stay together and to believe in each other." Sonia sighed. "It's not that easy."

'"Hinata-kun?" Chiaki asked sleepily, apparently having noticed his presence for the first time. "Oh and Komaeda-kun too," She said, looking over at Nagito who snapped to attention at the mention of his name.   
"......I wanted to-" She yawned, "-to apologize if we made you uncomfortable yesterday. Sorry." She said and bowed her head in apology. Well, she could just as well have fallen asleep again, Hajime didn't know for sure.

"It's okay, you didn't mean to offend." Nagito said, "Besides, I should learn to take something like that." he chuckled awkwardly and began peeling his orange. 

Chiaki looked downtrodden at that, but went back to sleeping in her rice.  
"Nagito, you shouldn't say things like that. It's okay to not be comfortable with something." Hajime scolded.

"I'm right though. I should get over it. Besides, it's not like anyone meant any harm." he shrugged and took a clove.

"Nagito..." Hajime knew that arguing with him would be pointless, so he tried a different tactic. "Well, I'm happy you left then if the alternative is you "getting over it." If you feel like that again, you can tell me and I'll go with you, okay?"

"Mm," he gave a tiny nod. "Orange clove?" Nagito offered to get away from the subject at hand. 

Hajime took it with a smile. "Orange with rice... that'll be an interesting flavor combination." He said, taking a bite of rice and biting off the orange clove at the same time. He scrunched his nose at the taste. "Hmm... Not terrible, actually;" He said, placing his verdict.

"Says the one who drinks orange juice to anything." Nagito snickered, "that looks disgusting."

"Hey don't diss orange juice," Hajime huffed. "Besides, didn't you say oranges were too sweet for your liking?"

"Yeah, they are. I don't like sweet things," he told him and ate another clove.

"Then, why are you eating them? There are other fruits, like Apples and grapes. Or maybe a grapefruit, if you want something sourer. I can go get some if you want." Hajime said, looking slightly bewildered.

"It's fine. This is what you got me, remember?" he asked, eating another clove. "I'll eventually learn to like the taste of them too."

"What... I got you?"   
Right, way back when Nagito'd still been tied up. Hajime had brought him a net of oranges, thinking that they would hold longer in the stuffy dining hall. 

"You remember that?" He asked in disbelief, cheeks coloring slightly.

"Well yeah. It was one of the few things I could think of. I fractured these bad babies trying to get them, didn't I?" he said, holding up his by now pretty shittily bandaged wrists.

"Right," Hajime said slowly. He looked at the half-eaten clove in his hand, feeling oddly sentimental. "Still, I can get you more fruit if you want. You don't have to force yourself to like oranges, you know?"

"Fruit, in general, is too sweet. It's fine. I want to." he said and took a bite of his untoasted toast.

Their peaceful breakfast was ruined pretty soon by the signature "Upupupu!"  
The face of Monokuma appeared on the dining hall monitor, and everyone immediately turned to face him, dread building in their stomachs. 

"No, it can't be..." Sonia gasped. "Not so soon, we've barely recovered."

"Hey, you guys!" The monokuma on the monitor chimed, oblivious to their protests. 

" Due to some...renovations being made on the fourth island, and some students being a bit naughty yesterday, I've come to a tough decision. But for now, everyone needs to assemble at Jabberwock park. Hurry up now! Tardiness will be punished since this is an official message from your headmaster! See you there, Upupupupu~"

"He had to, didn't he?" Nagito sighed, burying his head in his hands before getting up and offered his hand to Hajime and took the toast in his other hand.

Hajime took it, grasping it tightly. "No more victims. We'll beat this." He reminded himself quietly. 

"Yeah, I guess so. Nothing we can do except head to Jabberwock park, I guess."

"This is your fault, isn't it?" Souda growled as he walked past the two with his hands shoved in his pockets. "You guys had to go fuck this up and now someone's gonna die. I told you to stay away from Komaeda, Hinata."

"Hey! This isn't our fault more than anyone else!" Hajime argued, stepping in between Nagito and Souda.   
"Monokuma's the enemy here, not Nagito. I'd think the Ultimate Mechanic would be intelligent enough to figure that out."   
He knew he was being provocative, but hearing Souda insult Nagito, especially when he knew the other would never defend himself, made his blood boil. It was cowardly and unfair and Hajime was having none of it.

"Some kids were being naughty, doesn't that refer to you two?!" Souda growled, stepping up to face with Hajime.

"He manipulated you into fucking yesterday, didn't you?" he turned to Nagito with black eyes full of fear and hatred. "You were fucking played right into his hand and now someone is going to get killed, Hinata."

Hajime turned crimson. "You have NO idea what you are talking about Souda. I'd recommend you back the fuck off:" He declared, getting more angry by the moment.   
"Stop harassing my boyfriend and go to Jabberwock park before you get us all punished for being late!"

Souda bristled but ground his teeth and set off, flipping them the bird as left their view.

"If I'm the one you find dead you know who it is!" he yelled from halfway down the stairs.

"He's right you know? It is our fault. And I was the one who instigated it so I should take the blame." Nagito said quietly, the others have drawn back from the confrontation.

 

"Stop that," Hajime said decisively. "It's not our fault, it's Monokuma's. Blaming us is unfair, especially when there were no rules against public making out until Monokuma created them." 

Sonia cleared her throat. "I must confess I'm not entirely certain what you are referring to. But I do know one thing Komaeda-san, this is nobody's fault but Monokuma's. Hinata-san is completely correct, and Souda was acting out of line."

"Well, let's head to Jabberwock Park? I don't want to cause anyone more trouble." Nagito said with an awkward smile and picked up a fruit for Hajime before they left.  
"You didn't get to finish your breakfast, right?" he asked quietly and handed him the fruit as they walked over the bridge.

"No, you're right," Hajime said, taking the fruit and taking a bite with a smile. He threw the core away as they approached Jabberwock Park, seeing the other's already gathered. 

Gundham, Akane and Fuyuhiko stood, all looking toward the giant ticking bomb. As they approached Gundham, they saw him hunched over something.   
"There, you'll need much sustenance to overcome the nearing hardships;" He cooed, in a much softer voice than Hajime was used to. 

Sonia bounded up to him. "Oh! Are you feeding your Dark Devas? May I assist you?"

"Now that's a side I haven't seen before," Nagito said quietly, giving a tiny squeeze to Hajime's hand.

Hajime nodded in agreement. The wholesome atmosphere was soon shattered, however, as the signature "Upupupupu" sounded from behind them. Everyone turned around, and came face to face with Monokuma, standing in front of a huge screen, as you'd use for a projector. He was holding his hands behind his back, and looking very pleased with himself. 

"Here we go." Nagito sighed, inching just a bit closer for more support. While he wanted to see hope, he wanted to see it so very badly, Hajime really didn't want to deal with another body and honestly, he was just tired.

"Did I keep you waiting?" Monokuma asked, pouting as he didn't receive any response. "Aww, you guys are a terrible audience!" 

"Hey just get on with it, will you? I didn't get to finish my breakfast!" Akane bellowed. 

"Aww, fine...." Monokuma sulked.  
"Soo... I'm actually preparing something really big, but maintenance is going suuuuper slow, so I had to come up with a motive on the spot. I had to reuse a motive! Like, how lame and cliche is a killing game that reuses motives. Honestly."

Hajime sighed. He just wanted to get the bad news, so they could stop anticipating.

"Anywayy! I've decided we're gonna play a game!" He showed his hands finally, revealing a bunch of envelopes. 

"What are they?" Nagito asked slowly, and Monokuma lit up. 

"Yes! They are envelopes that contain your darkest secrets! These are things you wouldn't even tell your best friend or your-" He winked at Hajime and Nagito, "-Significant others..."

He walked toward them, handing the envelopes out one at a time. Hajime's was a simple white, with his name written it typewriter font on the front. 

"Sooo these contain your darkest secrets, but also two lies! It's up to you to guess which ones are which! Maybe you have killers or rapists or horrible people hiding amongst yourselves, I guess we'll find out! I'll be publically announcing all of the secrets tomorrow at this time, so if you're gonna kill, you'd better do it quickly!"   
He laughed devilishly.

"That's all for me. Happy murdering now!" Monokuma disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared, leaving the projector screen behind.

Nagito stood dumbfounded. He didn't know what he'd expected but it definitely wasn't this. He took a moment to process. "So.. What's the best approach to this?" he asked, holding the simple envelope addressed to him. "Do we just read them or do we share them -"

Sonia looked down sadly, her hands trembling around her envelope. "Our darkest secret... I can't say that I don't have secrets, but I don't think anyone has anything worth killing for, right? We're going to beat this motive, and not play into Monokuma's hands!" 

Hajime nodded, feeling relief flood his chest. Nobody would kill over embarrassing secrets, right? They were going to be fine.

" I think, maybe its best not to share yet... "Fuyuhiko said slowly." Let's give everyone time to come to terms with revealing their secrets, and we can hear them from Monokuma tomorrow. That might sate his lust for motives for a while too if he gets to complete his act, don't you think? "

"That seems fair. Maybe the traitor has that secret in there though.." Sonia agreed anxiously, fumbling with her envelope.

"I want to go back to the cottage and share mine with you before everyone sees it," Nagito said quietly. "I don't trust the people here to not do anything to you."

"Y-yeah. I do too-" Hajime said slowly. As they spoke, the other's slowly dispersed as well, so Hajime and Nagito decided to head back immediately. As they walked, the weight of the paper envelope was heavy in Hajime's hand.

"I don't know how much longer I can I can be patient. Wanna go to the beach instead?" Nagito asked, careful not to scrunch up the paper.  
"If you don't want to that's fine, it's up to you."

Hajime shrugged. "Yeah, let's do that. It's a good idea."  
He repeated the words that had been printed on his letter over and over in his head, wanting nothing more than to throw his envelope in the ocean. But he couldn't so he gripped it tightly instead.   
They approached the beach and sat in the shade of one of the palm trees, the one behind the monitor to retain some semblance of security.

"So who goes first?" Nagito asked, not yet having opened his envelope.

Hajime swallowed back bile.  
"Well... Mine really isn't so bad, I can- I can go first." He resigned himself. This was his most guarded secret, something he didn't want to tell anyone. It somehow felt fitting that Nagito would be the first to learn it.

"Alright. May I see your envelope or do you want to read it?" he asked, carefully placing a comforting hand on his thigh.

Hajime shakily opened the envelope, handing the folded paper inside to Nagito, who opened it slowly. The paper was empty, save for three sentences printed neatly with typewriter letters, one beneath the other.

"Hajime Hinata lied about not remembering his talent."

"Hajime Hinata has never had any self-confidence."

"Hajime Hinata has gotten the culprit wrong in a class trial. "

"Well, I already know that the last one is a lie, no? Otherwise, we all would've been executed." Nagito said, eliminating that one as a truth. "I don't know if you've lied though. Care to tell me or do you want to see mine?"

 

"I-" Hajime's gut twisted.  
He'd always know the truth, he supposed, but he'd never ever acknowledged it. He'd always thought it was just something unchangeable, like "The sky is blue, Hajime Hinata is completely average and will never accomplish anything extraordinary." He'd built a wall of self-confidence, and he'd been so sure that Hopes Peak Academy would change things but- But he felt more useless than ever before.

" The second one is- um- it's the truth."

"May I hug you?" Nagito asked softly, heart aching for his boyfriend.   
"You've solved all of the cases we've encountered so far, haven't you? That's something extraordinary."

Hajime looked down at the ground, nodding. "I haven't solved anything, you and Chiaki did all the work." He melted into Nagito's embrace nonetheless, feeling comfort wash over him.

"You were the one who figured out how Peko got out, didn't you? You're an asset to have, Hajime." Nagito said, running his fingers through his hair. 

"You're amazing Hajime, and every day I'm impressed by what you accomplish. And you obviously have a talent, I mean otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten into Hope's Peak." Nagito assured him. 

"I know confidence doesn't build overnight, but hopefully it's a start."

Hajime looked down at his shaking hands. 

"I- I hear what you're saying, but it- it doesn't feel real. It feels like it was a fluke, and if I start to believe in myself I'll just disappoint everyone once they realize the truth."  
He closed his eyes against the harsh light, wanting to block out reality. Block out the world in which everyone would know his darkest weakness in less than 24 hours. 

He swallowed. Wallowing in misery would do nobody any good.   
"But I'm fine- it's not like I'd kill over this- in any case."

"How about we pick up a new hobby then?" Nagito suggested. "Something you could practice and get really good. Give you a second ultimate talent?" he said and stroked his cheek. "I love you Hajime and I'm fairly certain I'd walk to the ends of the earth for you."

Hajime smiled. "You don't have to do that. This is- isn't something that can be fixed that easily, I think. And besides, you're helping to calm me down already, Nagito. I love you. We'll get through this together." 

"Yeah we will," he smiled back, stroking his hair again and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "We'll get through this, no matter what happens." 

Hajime gently pulled out of the embrace, taking his paper and folding it back into the envelope.   
"Do- do you want to share yours?" He asked carefully. He was simultaneously dreading and anticipating hearing Nagito's secrets. He wondered if they might help him understand the other better.

"Yes, here." Nagito took out his letter, not yet having read them himself. He felt that he'd dread this if he didn't know what would be revealed. "I haven't read them yet, so this is a surprise for both of us." 

-Nagito Komaeda has on multiple occasions attempted suicide

-Nagito Komaeda easily gets seasick

-Nagito Komaeda is a diagnosed sociopath

Hajime breathed out slowly. His eyes skimmed over the words over and over, mentally turning them around as if they might have a double meaning.   
"Which one- which one is true?" He asked slowly, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. 

Nagito browsed through the statements quickly and his stomach dropped.

"The first-" he reluctantly admitted.  
"I can see how the third one would drive Souda to murder," he said, laughing bitterly. 

Hajime looked at him gingerly. The news was shocking but hardly surprising. After all, Nagito was comfortable with death to the point where he was asking people to kill him if it would benefit his ideals. 

"I still love you." He whispered slowly, not knowing what else to say. "I'll always love you, no matter what."

"Yeah," he said, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm sorry, I love you too, but I'm sorry." He murmured, processing how this would affect them. Honestly, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest, or a cork plugging him up being removed. 

"Wow, now-now you know." he chuckled heftily, fiddling with his thumbs.   
"I don't know if this feels liberating or unwanted exposure-"

This time it was Hajime's turn to pull Nagito into an embrace. "It's okay. You're okay now, and that's all that matters. As long as you're okay." He mumbled, kissing Nagito's forehead slowly. 

"But Nagito- promise me you won't try anymore, please. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah- I'll- I'll try," he promised, finally looking up at him with a weak smile. "I'll promise if you work to realize how awesome you are." 

Hajime smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I promise. We can do this together, then."   
He looked out over the ocean, feeling a warm breeze envelop them. Somehow, talking things out with Nagito had made him feel a lot better. Whatever happened, he knew he had someone in his corner, and he hoped Nagito felt the same. 

They would fight this, and they would win.

 

They sat quietly like that for a while before Nagito spoke up. "I'm kinda curious what the others' secrets are." 

"Yeah," Hajime agreed. He wondered what kind of secrets the Ultimate princess was hiding or the Ultimate breeder. 

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventful with doubtful glances exchanged whenever they encountered one another. It was just a little while before their scheduled dinner Nagito spouted an idea while staring up into the ceiling of his room while Hajime read.  
"What if we reveal it all tonight at dinner? Tell everyone beforehand. Like, flipping Monokuma off." he suggested.  
"It gives us more time to process the new information and talk it out so nobody decides to go on a killing spree."

Hajime looked at him surprisedly. "Yeah, that might actually be a good idea. We get to reveal the secrets on our own terms too. We could ask everyone at dinner, maybe?" He suggested, picking up his bookmark and shutting "A Brave New World".  
He yawned and slung his legs over the edge of the bed. "We should probably head to the dining hall, speaking of which. I'm getting kind of hungry."

"Sounds like a plan then," he said and sat up, grabbing his envelope. "Let's stop by the lobby first and pick up a pen though."   
Nagito stood up and stretched. "May I ask for your help to write though? My wrists hurt a little. I don't want to bother you with doing crap like this for trash like- Could you write something for me please?" 

"Of course." Hajime smiled. They walked together to the market, picking up a couple of ballpoint pens that Nagito put in his pockets to share between the others later. Then they headed toward the dining hall, growing more nervous as the moment they'd been dreading quickly approached.

"Better to rip the band-aid off quickly," he said as they came up the stairs. "Food first?" he asked, looking over to Hajime with uncertainty. 

Hajime nodded. "I'm not sure I can eat very much though," He admitted, the nervousness coiling in his gut, making him feel slightly ill.   
He filled his plate with food, albeit less than usual, and went to find a place to sit.

Nagito followed him like a lost puppy, experiencing similar nausea. 

They ate in silence, and Hajime only cleared about half of the food on his plate. Slowly, the others entered the dining hall, until everyone but Souda was present. That's when Hajime figured they could announce Nagito's plan, and get the other's opinions.   
He stood up, making his voice louder than usual and addressing everyone present. 

"So- I'm assuming everyone has spent a lot of time thinking about their motives? Nagito and I have a suggestion." He started, pushing down nausea.

Nagito stood up too, albeit a bit more insecure. Should he really stand up too? Hajime seemed to have this all worked out, he probably just ruined everything for him now.  
"I- we-" what if they thought it was a bad idea.  
"I thought that maybe if everyone revealed their motives on their terms we could work through this and prevent another killing?" 

Hajime nodded, taking the other's hand to comfort him.

"We've brought pens, so everyone can write which statement is the truth on here and we'll place them here so you can read- if you want. We've already marked ours." He said, holding up his and Nagito's envelopes. 

"So- uh, what do you think?" He asked, feeling a bit silly being the center of everyone's attention. 

Chiaki was the first to speak up. "I think it's a good idea. If everyone gets to share things by their own volition, it'll be easier........I think."

Nagito took their envelopes and laid out the papers on the table in the center. "Now everyone can see ours. Leave yours there if you want to participate," he said and quickly returned to his seat. 

 

Chiaki stood slowly, walking forward and placing her white envelope on the table. She opened it and quickly wrote something next to all of the statements. Then she moved aside, looking at Nagito's and Hajime's envelopes respectively.   
Hajime walked over and read through Chiaki's statements. 

Chiaki Nanami has never had a proper conversation with someone her age prior to starting this Killing School Trip. (Truth)

Chiaki Nanami is completely unable to feel fear or anxiety. (Lie)

Chiaki Nanami has never had a proper parental figure. (Lie)

Surprisingly Fuyuhiko was the next to go leave his envelope on the table.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu danced ballet during his childhood (Lie)  
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu has a little sister complex (Lie)  
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu likes fried dough cookies (Truth)

"Very well," Sonia spoke up. "Though I pray you do not think too ill of me after this." She walked toward the table, with perfect poise and a forced smile on her face. 

Sonia Nevermind aspires to be a serial killer. (Lie)  
Sonia Nevermind has extreme claustrophobia. (Truth)  
Sonia Nevermind doesn't want to be the ruler of the kingdom of Novoselic. (Lie)

"Why would we? The worst ones are the lies, but now we know the truth." Chiaki said with her signature smile. 

Mechamaru was the next to share his, albeit extremely reluctantly. "I hope you don't judge me too badly for this. But it's my duty as a manager to make sure my players are in their best shape, both physically and mentally."

Nekomaru Nidai has a phobia for kittens [LIE]  
Nekomaru Nidai performed "special services" for his players other than just massages [TRUTH]  
Nekomaru Nidai has a kink for being tied up with chains [LIE]

Hajime's face turned red, but he turned and gave Nekomaru a smile. "Well, each one to their own." He said, knowing how horrible it felt to be judged for something like that.

Gundham was the next to share his secret, slamming his paper down on the table with more force than necessary. "Here. May whoever gazes upon this forever be followed by pain and misery." He muttered but wrote next to the statements with trembling hands. Hajime read the note slowly.

Gundham Tanaka is responsible for another human being's death. (Lie)

Gudham Tanaka has gone three days without food. (Lie)

Gundham Tanaka was physically abused as a child and throughout middle school. (Truth)

The letters were so shakily written they were practically illegible, and Hajime had to squint to see properly.

"Gundham..." Sonia had no words.  
"I- I am so sorry you had to bear through something like that," she held up a hand to stroke his arm but halted halfway. "Are you okay?" 

"Do not touch me," Gundham muttered. "For my very skin has been so thoroughly poisoned you would surely disintegrate at the spot. Though it is true. My demonic heritage has come back to haunt me once again."

"Alright. My sincerest apologies, Gundham," she said, her heart hurting for the pain he must be enduring. "If you ever need to talk my ears are open."

Nekomaru was also about to give him a pat on the back but too stopped himself. "If you ever want to distract yourself I have a training regime planned out if you ever feel like becoming the ultimate pitcher."

Meanwhile, Akane stormed up to the table, roughly took the pen from Gundham and scratched down her lies and the truth and immediately left to go back to eat her worries away.

Akane Owari has been caught doping but her talent agency covered it up (lie)

Akane Owari has been arrested for prostitution but her talent agency covered it up (truth)

Akane Owari is lethally allergic to leather (lie)

Nekomaru slowly walked over to where she'd slunk back into her seat. Hajime couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked like he was trying to cheer her up with promises of sparring. He hoped Nekomaru would succeed, and wondered once again what difficult life Akane must have led. 

"I- believe that's all of us present, is it not?" Sonia asked carefully, having composed herself. 

"Yeah. Now can we all promise not to kill anyone?" Nagito asked and slunk back to his seat. 

Everyone murmured in agreement. "I am somewhat concerned, however," Sonia said, looking sad. "Souda hasn't come to join us for lunch or dinner, I am starting to get a bit worried, I must confess."

"I wouldn't mind him staying away from Hajime," Nagito muttered under his breath and resumed eating. 

"Should someone go look for him?" Chiaki suggested. 

Gundham huffed. "I will catch that fiend and bring him here. I require some time with mother nature, in any case." He looked down suddenly, blushing.   
"Dark Lady, may I entrust my Four Dark Devas of Destruction to you? They have not yet had their final supper, and I am to... rattled to eat at present."

"I'll make sure to feed them their seeds from the other dimension," Sonia said with a little smile and a sniffle and held out her hands to take care of his hamsters. 

Gundham stalked out of the dining hall, Sonia looking sadly after him.

Everyone slowly went back to their own business, and Hajime looked worriedly at the entrance. 

"Maybe I shouldn't be here when Gundham comes back with Souda. It'll just make things worse." Hajime said uncertainly. "I don't want him leaving because of me."

"Yeah, perhaps. You'll get to know sooner or later anyway." Nagito said and finished up his plate. "Let's head to bed?"

Hajime nodded, and they excused themselves to the other students, heading toward the cottages. They fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows, tired out from the day's events.


	20. Gundham squared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I just feel like Gundham is lactose intolerant.  
> /attakaikukkii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at that, two chapters in one week!
> 
>  
> 
> We'd also like to issue a warning for (pretty bad)homophobic slurs and a bit of homophobia in general. It's pretty easy to skip if you don't want to read it, (Also it's not permanent. There will be a redemption "arc") but it's something to keep in mind when reading.
> 
> Thanks to "Just a violet" for pointing this out for us! ❤️

Souda laid in his cottage and tinkered with some junk he'd found in by the shops in the electric avenue and ate chips. He didn't want to face anyone and start a fight again, especially not after his note. Speaking of his note, it currently laid as a ball in the far corner of his room. His dinner tonight would have to consist of the chips and soda he had stored in his room.

Gundham figured the best place to look would be Souda's cottage, so he went over and knocked harshly on the door. No response at first, so he shouted through the door, "Come out you fiend! The Dark Lady is requesting your presence!"

"Speak Japanese, then maybe someone will understand what you're saying!" Souda called stubbornly through his door, refusing to move and took another handful of chips. 

Gundham bristled.  
"It is not my fault that your puny mortal ears fail to comprehend the speech of Gundham Tanaka, Supreme Overlord of Ice. There is a matter our fellows wish to discuss, and you will be present! I shall bring you there myself through means of teleportation if it's necessary!"

"Come at me bro," he scoffed grouchily but opened up the door for him. "I'm not going." 

Gundham peered into Souda's cabin, curious despite himself. "What- what sort of creation is that?" He asked, gesturing (with a bit more flair than strictly necessary) toward the metal contraption Souda had been fiddling with.

"Just some junk reassembled," Souda shrugged and returned to his room to show him. "Doesn't do much but if you put a lighter in its hand you could prolly start a fire."

"Then, what's the purpose of such a contraption, if it does not serve a purpose?" Gundham asked perplexed. 

"To kill boredom," he said grumpily and sat down on the floor and resumed whatever little device he was tinkering with and took a handful of cheese puffs this time.

"In any case," Gundham said, remembering why he'd come in the first place. "Your presence is required at our discussion of the..." He swallowed. "The motives. Your isolating yourself has caused the Dark Lady to worry."

"Well, I don't want to go. Tell The Dark Lady that I'm completely fine here and I'll see you tomorrow when it's all revealed." Souda said angrily but offered him potato chips anyway.

"Ah- Such insolence!" Gundham gasped, but took the offered chip. "What is this? Some kind of sustenance?" He asked, holding it up to the light slowly.

"It's chips. You've never had them before?" Souda asked, tightening a screw. "It's just thinly sliced and fried potatoes, they won't kill you." 

"Hmm," Gundham said slowly, holding it to his lips and taking a small bite. "It's... salty. This is a common food among the human species, then?" He asked, taking another bite.

"Yes, Gundham, people eat this. And it comes in different flavors. I don't want to give you any other flavor than that though since I don't know if they're vegan or not," he said and took up the cheese puffs. "Milk powder... Does that contain milk?" 

"A wise decision," Gundham agreed. "I did not have many opportunities to partake in such... childish delights, as my upbringing was tumultuous. I was raised by a demon and an angel, you see," he admitted, figuring Souda would find out about his past soon enough anyway. He couldn't put it past him, not even here.

Souda, not being the brightest, missed that completely.  
"Well, you have the opportunity now. You can take the bag if you want to, then I'll take the shrimp flavored ones," he said and opened another small bag. "Have you ever had Cola?"

Gundham raised his eyebrow. "Are you referring to the name of a feral beast?" He asked, slowly sitting down on his legs beside Souda on the floor. "If not, I'm afraid you'll have to explain in more detail."

"Here. It's a soft drink," he said and reached under his bed to fetch a can for Gundham. "No animals were harmed in the making of this," he promised and handed the luke-warm drink to him. "They taste the best cold, but I don't have a fridge here," he said and took a sandpaper to file down a sharp edge.

Gundham raised the can to his lips tentatively, taking a small sip. He lurched backward in surprise, nearly dropping the can. "Oh it's... tingly," he said in bewilderment, raising a hand to his lips. 

"Yeah. It's carbonated. Like mineral water," he said, finishing up on the edge and looked up at him with a little smile. "They tend to be tingly." 

"It tastes... peculiar." Gundham decided, taking a bite of another chip. "Tell me," he said, leaning forward toward Souda. "Why have you condemned yourself to such an isolation, consuming theses "chisps" and playing with your metal contraptions instead of joining the others?"

"I don't want to fight again. Besides leaving now would only put me at danger of either for some reason being killed," he sighed. "Maybe someone holds a grudge for something I didn't do. I don't want to face the whole killing game again." 

Gundham looked at him. "But your absence is causing much worry amongst our classmates. Hinata, in particular, seemed on edge, and The Dark Lady was very concerned when I left."

"I'll be fine. I'll just wait it out in my room, go to that damned class trial, watch another person die and go back here and wait for it to be my turn," he said, hugging himself. "Let's face it, we're all going to die here anyway."

"Souda cease that this instant! You are giving in to despair!" Gundham exclaimed, recognizing the resignation in Souda's gaze. His mother had often looked like that, right before she tucked him in and locked his bedroom door.

He sighed but gave in.  
"You're right, I shouldn't lock myself away forever. Maybe just for a day though," he said, accidentally pricking himself with a screw as he grew distracted.

"You still refuse to acquiesce?" Gundham asked, eating another handful of chips, one at a time. "What is it that you're so adamantly hiding from?"

"Nothing. Whatever, it doesn't matter." he shrugged and brushed it off and sucked on his finger. "You should go back and tell The Dark Lady that I'm fine."

"Hmph. I was sent to fetch you, and I will thus not leave until that task has been completed." Gundham said stubbornly. Besides, he didn't really want to go back to everyone, not when they knew his secret. Spending time with Souda, someone who still had no idea was comforting- in a way.

"Well I'm not going, so I'm guessing you'll be stuck here for a while." he shrugged and refocused on his little toy. 

Gundham huffed again.  
"If you do not relent soon, I will be forced to call in the aid of the gods. As I am certain you would not want that, come with me this instant," he said, crossing his arms and glaring at Souda, who hadn't even looked up.

"Yeah yeah, gods will stand in my defense and all of that," he said, picking up a teeny tiny screw, probably from a phone and plugged screwed it in with utmost concentration. 

Gundham sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He dared another sip of the cola, chuckling slightly at the prickly feeling in his mouth.  
"Have you eaten anything this evening, other than these "chisps"?" he asked.

"Nope. I have a bunch of candy under there too though," he said, raising his hand in a victory pose as he got the screw in. 

"Candy?" Gundham asked slowly. "Like the ones you'd buy at theme parks? I remember the angel buying me some... I think." He remembered that warm day well, the sweetness of the candy floss he'd been bought intermingling with the hunger in his gut. He'd enjoyed that day immensely.

"I guess. Wanna open one? I'm not sure if they're vegan though..." he said and turned over to his stomach and crawled in under his bed and pulled out a packet of Twizzlers and read the back of it. Yup, they're vegan. Awesome!" Souda exclaimed and tore up the packaging.  
"Here you go, one for you," he said, fishing out a red vine for Gundham. 

Gundham chewed on the edge apprehensively. "Tastes like... fruit." He commented. "This is..adequate. You have my gratitude."  
He looked Souda right in the eyes, resisting the urge to cover his face with his scarf.

"They're an american brand." He told him, taking one for himslef and put the box down between them.

"Are these also commonly consumed among the human populice?" Gundham asked, taking another sip of cola. A glance out the window told him the sun was on the verge of setting, and he briefly wondered whether the others had already left the dining hall.

"By Americans, yes," Souda confirmed. "Are they to your liking, sir?" he asked in a hoity-toity voice.

Gundham gave him an unimpressed look. "They are...sweet. A bit too sweet. But they-" He trailed off, shrugged, and took another bite.  
"I enjoy them." He said simply

"I like them. They're nice to chew on," he said and refocused on his little project. "What got you into this whole black magic thing anyway?"

"Are you referring to my heritage? As I said, I was bequeath these powers by my parents. I was born and raised by an angel and a demon." Gundham answered, completely matter of factly as he took another bite of the twizzler.

Soda sighed. "So your parents raised you on all of these bizarre analogies?" he asked, dropping a screw which rolled over to the far corner of his room. 

"The- The Angel used to whisper these unyielding truths to me as I prepared to enter the demonic realm when I was younger," Gundham said slowly, recalling those long nights when he'd been a child.

"So you're an overgrown seven-year-old? Cute," Souda snickered and decided to leave the screw by that cursed paper. 

Gundham looked over at him, first now noticing the crumpled note. "What is that?" He asked, reaching out an arm to grab it.

"Don't! Bother with it. It's just trash." Souda exclaimed. "Don't bother with it." he sighed and got up, fetched the screw and tossed the paper in the trashcan. 

"Ha!" Gundham quickly backed away as Souda came close to swatting away his arm. He held it protectively against his chest. "Y-you- Do you have any idea how close you just were to be disintegrated!" He shouted, terror leaking into his voice and he kept far away from Souda.

"The fuck is up with you?" Souda asked. "I was just throwing away garbage..." he said picking up the paper ball again which had missed the bin. 

Gundham huffed dismissively, crossing his arms. "Did I not make this clear? Through my veins runs such deeply set poison that any mortal who touches me shall surely disintegrate in an instant. You'd do well to remember that, if you are to spend time in my presence."

"Got it. You don't like being touched. Geez, you could've just said that from the start." he sighed and sat back down and they sat in silence for a while. "The notes were supposed to contain two lies and a truth, right?"

Gundham nodded slowly. "I believe that is correct. What of it?"

"Mine didn't..." he said, clipping of a nail with his teeth.

Gundham blinked at him, looking confused. "I- don't believe I follow." He said at last.

"Mine was just lies, or one was kinda a truth, but it wasn't correct. Maybe one of them is true but I can't remember it." he finally admitted, troubled. 

Gundham nodded slowly. "W-would you, maybe desire to converse on the subject?" He asked slowly, mellowing his deep voice similarly to how he used to talk to skittish animals, back home. 

"I don't know. It's the note I just tossed." Souda told him and crawled over the floor and fished it up and showed him. 

Kazuichi Souda is bisexual  
Kazuichi Souda's dream is to build a mecha robot, much like the one in Gundam  
Kazuichi Souda has been a part of a gang and was blackened before the killing game started

Gundham read through them slowly. "Is-Is that my name?" He questioned, pointing to the second point.  
"It's misspelled."

"No, Gundam is an anime. It looks a little like this." Souda said excitedly, reaching for a pen and a paper and doodled the giant mecha robot from the series.

"Oh, I... I see. So think that something like that should share my true name." He studied the drawing. "In any case, I have further questions for you. I'm afraid I don't know the meaning of this word." He pointed to the paper, on the word "bisexual". "Do you know it's meaning?"

"It means that someone likes both boys and girls," Souda explained, face beginning to heat up. "But I'm not! I like girls, like Sonia." 

"Likes?" Gundham said curiously. "Do you mean, as a potential mate? Is that not normal?" He suddenly felt a surge of panic, since Souda seemed so adverse to the concept. Was there something wrong with him?

"Well, no. The most normal thing would be for a guy and a girl to like each other, since they can-" he cleared his throat and continued. "-reproduce. But some people aren't normal like that. Like Hinata for example." he said, growing more and more uncomfortable.  
"He only likes those of the same gender. That's called being homosexual. Or gay."

"Ah I- I see." Gundham said slowly. "And when you like.. both. That's called bisexual? What are people like you called, Souda?" He listened to Souda's explanations, feeling more and more dread. He hadn't realized that feeling like he did was abnormal.

"Heterosexual, if I'm not mistaken. Or straight," he explained with uncertainty. "I mean, everyone should get to like who they like, but I'm not bisexual. That only leaves the last one to be true. I don't have any memory of it though..." 

"Being a part of a gang," Gundham said slowly. "I must say, that doesn't at all sound like you." He chewed on his candy bar thoughtfully.  
"I doubt Monokuma would put in things that we do not remember..."

"But you see how I'm confused, right? I mean- none of these are true, right?" he asked, stomach gurgling, just making everything even more awkward.

"I suppose so," Gundham said. "It is strange indeed, though I suppose we could ask the others for guidance. That is if you are willing to exit your cottage?"

"I definitely don't want to bring this up with Hinata," he said bitterly and took a new twizzler, tearing off a piece. "So, you've always known you were bi? Like, without knowing what it was called, that is..."

"I suppose I've... never realized there was something else," Gundham answered, looking down at his lap. "I've had- interests in both genders as long as I can remember, so I didn't realize there was anything strange about it." He fiddled with the edge of his scarf nervously.

"Yeah, well that's at least a bit more normal than being gay... Like, I don't understand? There's no evolutionary benefit for homosexuality, is there?" Souda asked the Ultimate Breeder

"Well, I wouldn't say that. In tribes with dire circumstances, it will be more likely for these "homosexual" creatures to be born, as to not create more mouths for the struggling beasts to feed. Though I wasn't aware this applied to humans" Gundham answered, smiling as he thought of his dark beasts back home.

"Really? Do you have any animals who're gay at home?" Souda asked surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Indeed." He smiled to himself. "Back home I have creatures from all seven dimensions. That, naturally, would include such creatures."

"I never would've guessed. I guess I owe Hinata an apology for some things. I still don't trust Komaeda though." he growled.

Gundham chuckled. "Well that is understandable, however, I must say, I believe a conversation about it would greatly benefit both of you. In any case, the riddle has yet to be solved. Perhaps Monokuma will announce tomorrow why he decided to give you three falsehoods."

"Yeah, I hope so. What were yours? That is if you wanna share." Souda asked, close to finishing a little model of the Gundam robot

"Tch, to think the secret I gave my left arm to keep would be unearthed in this manner," Gundham muttered.  
"Very well. Since you will undoubtedly find out tomorrow, I'll explain it so your mortal ears will understand. However, I ask that you do your best not to understand, lest your mortal being might shatter from the revelations." Gundham said slowly and then recanted his truth and lies from before.

"Gundham Tanaka is responsible for another human being's death. This one is, of course, false. Though my powers certainly are fearsome, I have never turned them on a human being." Gundham explained.  
"Gundham Tanaka has gone three days without food. This one, too, is false. Though it is true I sometimes had to go to bed without supper, the Angel always made certain I had food." He said, swallowing thickly as he recanted the last point.  
"Gundham Tanaka was...physically abused as a child and through middle school. As you have probably guessed- this one is...true." He avoided Souda's gaze, staring down into his lap and trying to still his trembling hands.

"Oh... I'm sorry Gundham. I didn't know." Souda said, putting down the model again. "That, that kinda explains a lot. Does anyone else know?" he asked cautiously.

He nodded slowly. "The very reason I was sent to gather you was due to everyone sharing their secrets. The Dark Lady was growing worried since everyone had assembled except for you." He growled in frustration.  
"Argh! No matter what I do I cannot escape that influence!"

"If you're uncomfortable talking about it we could always just ignore it?" Souda suggested and offered him another twizzler. "I mean it's obviously not something you're very hyped to talk about."

Gundham took the offered candy gingerly, still not raising his eyes to meet Souda's. "That would be...very appreciated." He said quietly, wishing he could distract himself by playing with his Dark Devas.

"Then do you wanna talk about your ham- dark devas of destruction?" Souda asked, finally getting the inspiration needed to make what he was planning. "Pass me that violet piece of scrap metal?"

Gundham did so, and Souda immediately went back to fiddling with something on his contraption. "My Four Dark Devas of Destruction are far more than simple hamsters, though they have chosen their likeness as a temporary form. They are fearsome creatures and can bend the very fabric of the universe to get their will through. Like when we stayed on that accursed dry island if you recall." Gundham said, taking another bite of twizzler and smiling at the sugary taste.

"I don't think I do?" Souda asked. It took a while to decrypt what Gundham said.

"You helped me look for them, if you recall? It turned out my beasts had resolved to make your hat their new nest." Gundham smiled at the memory, though it was soured by the murder which had occured soon thereafter.

"Oh yeah! Where are they now?" he asked, doing some finishing touches.

"I entrusted them to The Dark Lady, since I had no time to feed them before coming to find you. I imagine they're probably asleep somewhere, during such a tenebrous night." Gundham answered.

"Ah. And I'm done! " Souda said proudly as he finished and handed the small Gundham Gundam to Gundham. "What do you think?"

Gundham took the small robot, turning it around and inspecting it. "It is...neat. I must say. How did you create it?"

"I just took apart some stuff from the avenue and put them back together. It can't really do anything though." he excused himself.

Gundham held the toy in his hand for a moment, unable to hide his careful smile. Then he gave it back to Souda gingerly, making certain their hands did not touch. "It is...cute, I suppose." He said.

"May I ask something?" he hummed and put down the toy between them.

Gundham looked up, surprised. "Certainly. What do you desire to know? As long as it won't negatively impact your mental state, I will be sure to answer."

"Do you not want to be touched or do you really think someone will be hurt if they touch you?" he asked, petting the Gundham Gundam.

Gundham looked at him strangely. "Naturally, I haven't touched another human being in many a year, for fear of my curse. So I suppose...I'm used to it."

"Your curse?" he asked confused, deciding to indulge in Gundham's antics

"Did I not tell you? Lethal poison flows through my veins. My very skin is toxic to the touch, so much so that a mere touch would cause your immediate disintegration:"

"What if you put a protective spell that made it safe for me to touch you?" Souda speculated.

"There is...no magic in this universe that could undo my curse. Unless you- but no. That is impossible. You should give up." Gundham said dismissively. "It is a lost cause. I, as the Supreme Overlord of Ice, am doomed to walk across the worlds in icy loneliness."

"Who cursed you?" Souda pried curiously. "Plus you won't have to walk alone, your devas are with you, no?"

"This curse has been plaguing me since childhood, no doubt the work of one of my enemies. Perhaps someone from the Astral plane." He gazed ahead of himself, thinking about things from long ago. "And- You may be correct. I hadn't thought about it like that." Gundham admitted, feeling the same sense of calm wash over him as when he played with his Dark Devas.

"Is this your true form then?" Souda asked, gesturing to the entirety that was Gundham.

Gundham huffed. "You could not comprehend my true form. Beholding it would turn you to ash in an instant. Such is the case with all ethereal beings, of course."

"Then is the curse cast upon you or this vessel?" Souda asked with a trickster grin. "Anyway, you may keep the Gundham Gundam if you want to."

"I- I suppose I'm not sure..:" Gundham said distractedly. He picked up the Gundam toy again, looking at it with a faraway look in his eyes. "I- have never before held a toy like this." He said in bewilderment.

"Do you like it?" Souda wondered without a care in the world over how much he wanted Gundham to like him.

"I- I do." He said slowly, looking at the small toy with a smile on the face. "I suppose this is the first toy I have ever owned. You have my gratitude."

"You're welcome." Souda smiled. "Did you eat yet?" he asked, feeling much better than before.

Gundham shook his head. "To tell the truth, today's events left me too...distracted, to partake in such base indulgences."

"Let's go have a proper dinner then?" Souda suggested and got up from the floor and offered a helping hand up, forgetting their most recent discussion.

Gundham looked at Souda's outstretched hand sadly but got up on his own. "I suppose- I could join you." He said curtly

"You probably want your devas back too." He grinned and put his room keys on his pockets and left his room.

Gundham nodded. It had gotten so late, the others had probably left the dining hall long ago. Though, he supposed he could always stop by Sonia's cottage and collect them after eating.  
"Let us make haste."

The two showed up soon to the restaurant to luckily find it as good as empty, save for Sonia.

She was sitting by a table, and looked up as they entered. "Gundham! Souda! I am so relieved you are both safe!" She smiled brightly at both of them.

"Yeah, sorry about making you worry, Princess!" He excused himself with an apparent blush.

"It is alright, please do not worry. But Souda, are you well? I have barely seen you since yesterday." Sonia asked. "Oh right!" She exclaimed. She lifted her hands from her lap, revealing the Four Dark Devas of Destruction, peacefully sleeping in her palms. Gundham picked them up gingerly, to avoid waking them and carefully placed them in his scarf, where they snuggled up against one another.

"That is really cute." Souda said, smiling warmly at the hamsters. "What are their names?"

Gundham held up the hamsters(Dark Devas of Destruction) one at a time, introducing them to Souda. "Their names are San-D, Maga-Z, Jum-P, and Cham-P" He said proudly. "They would give you a proper welcome, but I am afraid they are sleeping right now."

"I can see that," Souda noted and turned to get food for himself.

"So, what were you two up til until now?" Sonia asked curiously. "I must say, I sense less.....animosity between you than usual."

"Just talked a bit and had chips." Souda shrugged. "I made him a trinket too," he said proudly, inflating his generous aspects.

Sonia nodded, as Gundham too joined them with a plate of food. "Um, Souda about what happened when you were away. We all decided to-uh, leave our motives here. That way we get to share them on our own terms."

"Oh. Mine are in my room. They were all lies anyway, so it doesn't matter." he murmured, taking a seat again.

"They were... All lies? That doesn't sound like it's right." Sonia said slowly. "Souda, if you don't mind, could I hear them? You can read mine, of course."

"Alright, Kazuichi Souda is bisexual, Kazuichi Souda's dream is to build a mecha robot, much like the one in Gundam, and Kazuichi Souda has been a part of a gang and was blackened before the killing game started." he repeated, his stomach lurching as he imagined his own hands stained bloody.

Sonia nodded sagely. "And- you say you have no memory of any of these?" Gundham grunted. "We're assuming Monokuma chose three falsehoods to confuse us."

"That does seem like a plausible explanation." Sonia said, confounded.  
"Gimme the pen." Souda said and scratched over "A mecha robot much like the one in Gundam" and wrote rocket instead, then followed suit with Lie, Truth, Lie.

Gundham looked at the newly updated note. "Hmph, I suppose we'll have to ask Monokuma for clarification tomorrow." 

Sonia gazed at Souda's note with trepidation. "Souda... You are certain none of them apply to you?" She said slowly.

"Yes! I'm certain." he yelled and slammed his note on the table. "I'm not fucking bi, I don't give a damn about Gundam and I don't remember killing anyone!" his heart raced, adrenaline pumping through his blood as he panted and calmed down. "You know what, it was a mistake coming here," he muttered, regret filling his voice as he nervously reassembled himself and turned to leave. 

"Pardon me Souda, I did not mean to anger you." Sonia said immediately. "I was simply uncertain, since it seems like you're the only one who got three lies. I am sorry if I offended you." She bowed her head.

"And I shouldn't have yelled at you, sorry Sonia." he said softly but still left, embarrassed by his outburst. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Gundham and Sonia watched him leave. "Perhaps...it's best that he gets some time to think things through," Sonia said at last. As she spoke, the monitors lit up and the nighttime announcement began to play, waking Jum-P from his slumber and causing his to crawl out of Gundham's scarf and down into his hand.  
"The night grows deep. We might be better off returning as well, Dark Lady." He said softly, absentmindedly petting Jum-P's back.

"Agreed," she nodded. "Good night Gundham, good luck conquering the demons during your trip to the derse or prospit realm tonight." Sonia grinned, casting a second glance over to the notes on the table.

Gundham gave her an appreciating smile, and bowed in a flourish. "My wishes are with you as well, Dark Lady." They accompanied each other to the cottages, and Gundham bid Sonia goodnight before returning to his own to get ready for bed.

\---

The night passed somewhat uneventfully, the only disturbance being Komaeda sneaking up for some water. He went back immediately after, sleeping the rest of the night on the edge of the bed until the Monokuma announcement rang. 

Hajime scrambled awake at the harsh awakening, nearly pushing Nagito off the bed with his scrambling. "Nagito? I could have sworn you were on my other side." He commented, but his head was too groggy to remember clearly.

"I went to the bathroom." he groaned. "When I came back I didn't want to disturb you."

Hajime cringed. "Oh god, sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I can be...flexible in bed." He groaned and let his head fall back down on the pillow.

"Ah! I didn't know you were such a pervert, Hajime!" Nagito laughed playfully and got up. "I'll go shower and meet you here again?" he said and petted Hajime,s thigh. 

Hajime's face turned crimson. "Dammit, Nagito! You know that's not what I meant!" Or at least- not yet- And that's exactly how far he was going to entertain that thought. Not at all. 

This time it was Nagito's turn to walk in on Hajime. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as last time as the two had hung a curtain behind the glass wall towards the bedroom. 

Hajime cursed as he walked out of the shower, having forgotten his clothes on the bed outside. He was still dripping wet, so he dried himself off and tied a towel around his waist, preparing to exit and get his clothes.

"Hajime, you done?" he called out as he walked into his room just to be met by a Hajime in only a towel. "Sorry!" he exclaimed, hands flying up over his eyes and he turned around. "I didn't see anything!"

"N-Nagito?" Hajime asked, backing against the wall. "It's cool just, could you hand me my clothes?" He backed into the bathroom, scowling as he came face to face with his flustered expression in the mirror.

"Ye-yeah!" Nagito went to the bed and picked up his clothes, a flush spreading over his whole face when he noticed that Hajime's underwear laid up top. "I'm outside the door now!" he called, back pressed against the glass and waited for Hajime to open the door and take his clothes.

Hajime slid open the door and took the clothes with a smile. "Thanks, I'll- uh, I'll be right out." He got dressed and dried his hair in record time, scowling at the amplified "spiky-ness" from drying it with a towel and not airdrying as he usually did. 

"So, beautiful weather today no?" Nagito said, unsure what to talk about.

Hajime laughed. "Nagito, don't worry about it, it's fine. Besides-" He flushed. "We're boyfriends, you know? This isn't unusual, right?"

"Right," he smiled towards the ground. "you love me~" he teased. "I kinda pity you for it. Souda's probably right about manipulating you." 

"Souda should have never opened his mouth," Hajime said curtly. "He's just putting ideas in your head." He lifted Nagito's head and pressed their lips together briefly. "And yeah- I do love you."

"Your loss." he smiled and enjoyed the kiss nonetheless. "Maybe this is how my luck's gonna hurt you. It forces you to be in love with trash like me:" Nagito was in a good mood today. 

Hajime gasped dramatically. "Oh no! Such tragedy!" kissing him again, before pulling Nagito out of the cabin by his wrist. He felt so much lighter after they'd all gone over the motives yesterday, like whatever happened he knew he could count on his friends. A passing thought of Souda somewhat mellowed his happiness, but he pushed that aside. He had done nothing wrong, after all.

The two came up to the restaurant, noting that another note laid on the table. "Is this Souda's?" Nagito asked, looking around for someone to answer. 

"Souda Kazuichi is bisexual?" Hajime read over his shoulder. "Well, that can't possibly be true. But Souda told me himself that his dream was to build a rocket, not a robot, and the other one looks just....absurd." He scratched his head in confusion.

"Would be funny though? Didn't he comment about you being gay too?" Nagito asked, harboring quite bitter sentiments towards Kazuichi. "I'm gonna go sit down." 

Hajime nodded, figuring he'd ask about the note when more people came to breakfast. As it was, he gathered some breakfast and two glasses of orange juice and sat down next to Nagito by a table.  
"You're not going to eat?" He asked the other, placing a glass in front of him.

"I'm not exactly hungry," he said and looked up at him. "I'm fine with juice."

Hajime shot him a concerned look. "You don't want anything? Not even an orange?"

"No thank you. I'm fine with just orange juice." he repeated and held out his glass for Hajime to pour.

Hajime shrugged, but inwardly smiled. It always surprised him when Nagito felt comfortable enough to speak his mind, even if his nutritional intake was worrying. "Okay, I guess I can't force you." He said and poured his juice.

"So reveal today? It feels a little anti-climactic now." Nagito laughed softly.

Hajime shrugged. "Well Monokuma did say this motive was last minute...I wonder what he had planned originally though. This one seems kind of... basic compared to the other motives."

"I don't wanna know..." He shuddered and took a swig of his orange juice.

Hajime nodded in agreement. As they enjoyed their breakfast, Sonia joined them, sitting down opposite to Hajime with a cup of tea and a plate of waffles. "Right, Sonia I wanted to ask you something." He said, chewing on a mouthful of rice. "That note- is it Souda's? Why are the truth and lies not marked?"

"He claimed they were all lies." She said, a concerned frown spreading on her gave as she sat down with an Egg Benedict

"They were all...lies?" Hajime said confusedly. "That shouldn't be possible? Should it?"

"I agree, but he claims they are and I shall proceed to believe his statement until proven otherwise." She said confidently

Hajime shrugged. "Well yeah, they all seemed pretty improbable. You got him to come out yesterday then? How...how was he?"

"He was rather shaken up and he retreated to his abodement rather quickly. But at least he came out." she told them. "I wish there was something I could say to cheer him up.."

Hajime stared down in his rice as an uncomfortable silence enveloped their table. Hajime wanted to comfort Sonia, but he knew that he was part of the problem, so he just kept silent. "It seems it's not a lie after all....."  
They were interrupted by Chiaki, who was carrying a plate of strawberry tart, (Not a Mikan approved breakfast) As she sat down by Sonia.

"Pardon?" Sonia looked up from her egg. "Oh! Where did you find that!" she exclaimed, her sweet tooth aching.

"Mm... They're over there." Chiaki said sleepily, taking a bite of her cake. "You can have some if you want." She said, sliding the plate toward Sonia, who took a bite eagerly. Hajime smiled as the tense atmosphere drained from the air.

"I wonder what Chiaki meant with the cake not being a lie," Nagito said quietly, leaning over to Hajime.

Hajime shrugged. "Probably something video game related, if I know her. I guess it could be related to the motive though."

"Ask her?" Nagito suggested, "Maybe you'll find out something vital in case someone dies." he suggested, pressing a small kiss to his cheek.

Hajime leaned over, forwarding Nagito's question. Chiaki chewed thoughtfully on her cake for a moment. ".... Wow Hinata-kun, I can't believe you missed such an obvious reference." She said at last, leaving Hajime more confused than before.

"Good job." Nagito snickered, not getting the reference either, but no one had to know that.

"You're the Ultimate Gamer, not me." Hajime said, ignoring Chiaki's disappointed gaze. He looked over as Akane, Fuyuhiko and Nekomaru all entered the dining hall, Akane immediately sprinting for the buffet.

"I wonder what the dead ones' secrets would've been." Nagito said crudely. "Would've been interesting to know."

Hajime shivered at that. "You know, I don't know how you can say shit like that so easily." He didn't know if he meant it as wonder or criticism.

"Well, death is a part of it all. It's not that hard to grow accustomed to." he shrugged, "We don't really live forever. I'll only live for about another year."

Hajime flinched slightly at the cruel reminder. "Right, yeah." He said solemnly, going back to staring down his almost empty cup of rice.

"Don't think of it like that. Think of what will happen in that year if it scares you." he said, patting Hajime's back. "I think I'll have breakfast anyway."

Hajime nodded, pulling himself together slightly. He knew being depressed wouldn't change anything, especially when Nagito himself was acting so calm. He wasn't the one who should be comforted. "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna get some fruit too, Im craving some rice with orange." He said, only half forcing his smile.

"Sometimes I wonder what happened for you to get the tastebuds you have." he laughed a little, spicing it up today with a slice of cheese on his today toasted toast.

They ate slowly, Nagito taking pensive bites of his toast and Hajime trying to pair as many different fruits with his rice as possible. Too soon, their friendly atmosphere was cut short by the harsh chime of the Monokuma announcement, Informing them that the dreaded moment had come. Hajime reluctantly popped his last grape into his mouth as he stood. "Guess it's time, huh?"

"This feels almost like a waste of time, unless someone here lied," Nagito said dully and got up. "Let's go then?"

Hajime nodded, though he felt he couldn't let the conversation end there. "Well, nobody took the motive, right? So we beat Monokuma Nagito!" He said happily, giving the other a kiss on the cheek. "It's all thanks to your idea too! You're amazing."

"If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have bothered." he reminded him.

"So I'm what? Your Muse?" Hajime chuckled. "Well, I guess I can live with that."

"Ultimate inspiration." Nagito mused and so they walked over to Jabberwock Park and the scoreboard, much like one at a baseball match.

Gundham and Souda were already standing in front of the screen when the others assembled. As they all gathered close, Monokuma suddenly poked his head out from behind the big screen. "Ahem- Mic check!" He chimed, holding a wireless microphone to his mouth, causing it to ring harshly. "Ladies and gentlemen! We've gathered today to find out something wonderful! The deepest darkest (dankest) secrets of our beloved Ultimates!" He laughed and continued. "So, who wants their statements read first? How about we start with the people whos unruly behaviors caused this motives in the first place, hmm? Hinata Hajime! You are up! Upupupu~"

"You got this. We already know and I love you either way." Nagito murmured, watching his boyfriend take a deep breath and brace himself.

"Hey what the fuck does he mean by" The ones who caused all this? "Souda asked testily, as Momokuma rattled off Hajime's truths and lies.  
"Dammit! This is his fault somehow, isn't it?" Souda gestured angrily at Nagito. "I told you to stay away from him!"

"Well I didn't, in fact I'm the one who led it all in. And if you have a problem with that I will fight you." Hajime threatened, getting sick of Souda's endless accusations.  
This proclamation of battle immediately got Nekomaru's and Akane's attention.

"HEY! This is no time to be fighting!" Nekomaru whispered harshly, somehow almost managing to scream whilst keeping his voice down. Monokuma had listed off a few people now, but hardly anyone paid attention. "Listen Souda, I don't know what the fuck your deal is with Nagito but I won't let you insult him like that again, you got that?" Hajime threatened, fixing Souda with a glare.

"Hajime, it's fine. Leave it." Nagito said, gripping Hinatas sleeve.

"No, it's not fucking fine! His fucking libido is the reason things are as shit as they are now!" Souda growled.

Hajime took a single step forward, clenching his fists. "What the fuck did you say?" He asked, voice trembling with barely contained anger. "This situation isn't my fault or Nagito's dammit. Stop being childish and accept that not everyone will do as you fucking want!"

"Then how come the fucking bear said so?! Just because you two fucking homos can't keep it in your pants you made the rest of us suffer!" Souda was by now seething with anger, getting awfully close to Hajime.

"Well it's not like there's a rule against making out in public!" Hajime argued, glaring. "And besides, what do you mean by "you homos"? I thought you were bisexual, Souda! " He panted from anger, barely conscious of the world around him.

"I told you I'm not FUCKING GAY!" Souda shouted, barely holding back from punching him. "I'm not gay, I'm not bi, I'm not anything fucking else. I'm normal, in comparison to you fucking freaks." he spat venomously.

Hajime recoiled. "Fucking take that back, Souda. Take that back or I swear to god I'll-" He shrugged off Nagito's grip on his arm and raised his fist. Monokuma looked on with interest, having stopped listing secrets now. "Upupupu, I thought this motive was a fail, but maybe we'll get a murder after all!" He said, absolutely delighted.

"Hajime, don't!" Nagito exclaimed, reaching out to pull him away, Mechamaru finally stepping in to aid and separated the two boys who'd after Souda's next comment had begun fighting.

"He's not worth it, Hajime, leave him be."

"Let me go, dammit! What he said is unforgivable!" Hajime struggled against Mechamaru's vice grip, ignoring Nagito's attempt to calm him down

"You're gonna throw away the work we did, just to fight someone for what?" Nagito reasoned, Souda's aggressions ebbing away.

"I don't care, it's not worth getting hurt over, just ignore him," Nagito said, laying a cautious hand on his arm.

Hajime grasped his hand, slowly beginning to come to his senses. "You owe me a fucking apology." He spat at Souda, then turned his face toward Nagito instead. Nekomaru slowly let him go, and he took a few steps away, stilling his trembling hands.

"Fucking fags..." Souda muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and went as far away from the two as possible, just wanting to go back to hiding in his room.

"Hey Hey Hey! You can't leave! We haven't even read your truths and lies yet!" Monokuma screamed angrily. "You wouldn't want to skip school in the Middle of your headmaster's announcement, now would you?" There was a thick Darkness in those words, and Souda halted, turning around.

"Good boy!" Monokuma praised, a shudder running down Nagito's spine at those words. "Never call me a good boy." he murmured to Hajime, "I absolutely hate it."

Hajime shuddered in agreement. "Now then! Souda's truth and lies are as follows!" Monokuma bellowed as Souda grew irritated. "Hey! Don't you mean my lies? None of those are true!"

"Remember the rule about violence against the headmaster!" Monokuma sing-songed.

"Souda, please calm down! I beg of you." Sonia pleaded, taking a step toward him. Gundham, who'd been standing next to her remained unmoving, staring down at the ground with a pained expression.

"Fine. Explain why you gave me three lies, so that we can fucking go sometime!" Souda yelled at Monokuma.

"Huh? Whatever do you mean?" Monokuma asked, confused. "You have a truth and two lies, just like everyone else. After all, Headmaster Monokuma doesn't play favorites!"

"Well, then you've got something wrong. Tough shit, you made a mistake," he said, stomach curling in on himself. Did he really kill someone?

"Upupupupu~ nuh uh! My source is 100% reliable. It wouldn't be a very fun game if only you got preferential treatment, after all." Monokuma smiled gleefully.

"Oh god I really am a murderer, aren't I?" he whispered miserably to himself and crouched down.

"Souda please, do not worry. Nobody here blames you. We all have secrets that we wanted to keep." Sonia reassured him with a hand on his back, crouching down next to Souda.

Monokuma cleared his throat from by the billboard. "Ahem! In Light of the sudden... Confusion. I, your generous Headmaster, have decided to show you the truth!" He gestured with an elaborate flourish toward the board. "Now, do you feel the Despair, Souda? Considering what you were just fighting about... I mean. Upupupupu~"

Souda refused to look up. Nagito, on the other hand, got a malicious grin spreading on his face. "He may be right about one thing, but that is completely amazing. "

All color drained from Hajime's face as he saw the billboard, and he could hear everyone else's disbelief as well. "Souda Kazuichi is bisexual" Was blinking green on the board.


	21. In which Hajime goes full Lysistrata and it is confirmed that Nagito should not take over Fuyuhiko's job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry XXX-mas ho ho hoes!  
> It's December now so we can officially plague everyone with punk versions of Christmas carols.  
> /attakaikukkii
> 
> Also, heads up, there's some hella cringey smut-ish written by two teenage wlw.  
> Beware.  
> (Its easily skip-able though.)  
> (Seriously it's bad. Like really bad.)

"It's okay, Souda," Sonia said slowly, petting his back awkwardly.

Nagito burst out laughing. "The irony, Hajime, I can't -! Oh my gosh, I can't believe this!"

Souda got up slowly, fixing Nagito with an icy stare. "This isn't fucking funny!" He growled, and Hajime stepped in between them quickly.

"Don't take another step." He warned as Souda clenched his fists.

"It kinda is though. You pride yourself in being straight and you berate Hajime for his sexuality just to get it revealed that you are what you loathe." Nagito snickered, it was just too good to be true.

"You crazy fucking bastard! I bet you wanted this to happen, didn't you! You wanted this motive just so you could torment me with fucking lies, you traitor!" Souda spat, contempt dripping from every word.  
"Well guess what? I'm not fucking fooled, I know I like girls! I'm not some damn anomaly like you guys!"

"Yeah, you like girls. Guys too apparently." he snickered.  
Meanwhile, Gundham who'd gone up to Souda to comfort him had stopped in his tracks.

His hands were clenched so tight, his palms were bleeding, and his face was pale. Gundham's head spun and his heart pounded and he hadn't realized words from Souda would hurt so bad. Why was he so concerned about having Souda's approval? "Are we done?" He aimed his question at Monokuma, wanting nothing more than to escape to his cottage and hide under his bed like when he was little.

"I think you've got it covered from here." Monokuma grinned evilly and somehow disappeared somewhere.

"This is gold," Nagito said amused.

As soon as Monokuma gave permission, Gundham began walking toward the cottages. Sonia yelled after him but he tuned her out, walking faster and faster until he was practically running once he reached the cottages.  
Hajime looked after him dumbly, feeling too conflicted to really react to his surroundings.  
"Nagito... Let's go," He said slowly, not wanting Souda to rile up his boyfriend more.

"No no, I wanna see how they overcome this, please? With this much despair only something beautiful will come from it, Hajime I need to watch their hope!" Nagito told him desperately. "I need to see this!"

"You fucking sicko!" Souda screamed, sprinting towards and throwing himself at Nagito, pinning him down. "You think this is some kind of show for your amusement?! Go shove a fucking stick up your ass you lunatic!" He punched Nagito in the jaw, eyes burning with anger, malice, and despair.

"Absolutely beautiful..." Nagito whispered, not really minding getting socked in the jaw if hope was to come from it.

Nekomaru was on Souda in a moment, wrestling him away from Nagito. He was breathing harshly, entire body trembling from anger and shock. Hajime fell to his knees by Nagito, who was staring dazedly ahead, one hand touching the bruise on his face. "Nagito! Are you alright? How bad is it?"

"I'll be okay, I mean, that despair, definitely worth it," he said, looking completely infatuated. "Just imagining what shining hope will come from it, it's almost orgasmic." he shuddered.

Hajime raised his eyebrows. "Okay, that's enough of that. Come on, let's go fix up your bruise." He said, tugging Nagito to his feet.

Sonia stood by Nekomaru who was still restraining Souda, trying to get him to calm down. "Souda please, just calm down. It is alright, nobody is judging you." She implored, looking very distressed.  
"Let me go!" Souda yelled furiously. "Let me go, I can't fucking take this whole thing any longer, let me go!"

Hajime held Nagito by the wrist, slowly leading him away. He knew that both of them would only make the situation worse, and he was worried about his boyfriend. He exchanged a glance with Sonia, who gave him a worried smile. "Come on Nagito, let's leave them alone for now." He said, heading toward the cottages.

"I want to see- yeah okay." Nagito agreed as he remembered Hajime didn't like dead bodies, casting a glance of admiration over to Souda who looked like he was only seconds from murder.

Hajime pulled Nagito into his cabin, which by now smelled of far less perfume. He gestured for Nagito to sit down on the bed. "I should have a first aid kit somewhere... And we still have that salve that Tsumiki gave us... Okay here we go." He entered the with the supplies in his arms, sitting down opposed to Nagito.  
"It's okay Hajime," Nagito said, a bit dazed from the punch still. "You know, it's going to repay in the end," he said surely.

Hajime gave him a look.  
"It's not okay, you got socked in the jaw, Nagito." He reached for the bottle of salve. "Now sit still and let me treat you."  
"Hajime, it's okay, I'll be fine without it, you don't have to go to these lengths to take care of me. I'm already enough of an inconvenience as it is." Nagito refuted, leaning away from Hajime's hands.

Hajime very nearly groaned. "Nagito, we've had this conversation before. You're my boyfriend and I love you and when you get hurt I want to take care of you. Okay?" He smiled, trying to strengthen his words.  
"Yeah, but this is an injury I provoked, you shouldn't have to do them too." he sighed.

After a disproportionate amount of arguing Hajime won the fight, Nagito left sitting on the bed with salve on his chin and an ice package pressed against it. "Lucky me, I didn't bite my tongue." 

Hajime nodded. "I swear if I see Souda again-" He growled. "I don't know what the fuck his deal is, but he crossed a fucking line."

"That I can agree on. He shouldn't go after other's sexualities when his obvious man-crush Gundham is standing right behind him. That was gold." Nagito chuckled, remembering back to how hurt Gundham had looked.

Hajime's anger subsided a bit. "I hope Gundham is alright, he looked really pale before..." He muttered, lying down on the bed next to Nagito and crossing his arms beneath his head. "Let's just stay in here today, I don't want to deal with everything right now."  
"Gundham always looks pale. He wears makeup you know?" Nagito pointed out and reached for his book.  
\---

Meanwhile, Souda had been let go by Nekomaru. "You should've let me go, you should've let me kill him, it would've saved us so much trouble in the future! Besides, it's not as if the fucker wants to stay alive anyway!" 

"Souda! Do not talk like that about our classmate!" Sonia pleaded, her eyes filling with tears. "Please, just stop this and calm down-"  
"Don't. Just let me go. I'm going back to my room." he frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off. 

"I won't do that!" She said, devastation in her voice. "We need to sort this out, Souda! Keeping your feelings in like this isn't healthy!" (I'd know better than anyone) she thought.

"Don't." he just looked over to her in misery, "I don't want to fight with you too."

Sonia watched Souda walk toward the cottages, looking down at her trembling hands. Two of her best friends had left her in the span of minutes, she felt like the main character in a JDrama. 

"You should probably give him some time to cool off," Fuyuhiko said, walking up next to her.

"Akane! We should go spar today." Nekomaru told her, wanting to leave the scene as casually as possible.  
Akane shone up at this and bounded after Nekomaru, the two of them heading toward the beach.

"I don't understand what went so wrong," Sonia said softly. "I feel totally helpless."

"I don't think Souda has come to terms with his sexuality yet. No one is born with that prejudice, it's taught." Fuyuhiko told her. "He needs to accept it and that can be hard. Gundham are you okay?"

Sonia looked sad. "Gundham- left a while ago. I do not know why, but he seemed upset. Truly, I do not know how to help either of them right now. I may be a Princess, but it feels like the world is against me."  
"Maybe offer your condolences to Gundham? I think he took what Souda said to heart." Fuyuhiko suggested. 

Sonia gazed toward the cottages. "Yes- yes I think you might be correct. I'm going to check on Gundham." She said, having made up her mind.  
"And I'm going to go try to find a computer with internet so I can get my psychology degree because this is getting insane," Fuyuhiko said to himself and so they parted ways

Sonia practically ran to the cottages, stoppning in front of Gundham's door and knocking before she could talk herself out of it. She got no response.  
"Gundham please, I know you are in there. Please open the door so we can talk."

Gundham opened the door reluctantly, with anguish streaked all over his face.

"Gundham, you shouldn't take what Souda said to heart you know?" Sonia implored.

He rubbed his bandaged arm over his face in a futile effort to remove the evidence of tears from his cheeks. "Dark Lady. I am terribly sorry but I'm- very busy with a- um- a ritual. I am afraid I can't-" His voice broke and he looked down, mortified.

"Souda is," How should I put this, Sonia thought apprehensively. "There's the spirit of a bunny in him. When he gets stressed, shocked or scared he'll lash out and scream, even if a familiar hand comes close." She said, hoping that her simile would sit right with the other. "He didn't mean what he said, and he definitely didn't mean anything ill towards you."

"I shouldn't care what that fiend says. He is but an insignificant mortal whilst I-" He trailed off and his cheeks became red.  
"Though I suppose, in your scenario a cornered fox, or perhaps a bird of prey, would be a more fitting simile. One with very sharp teeth." He gave a small smirk.

"He does. I wonder if he has had them cosmetically altered." Sonia chuckled softly. "May I come it?"

Gundham looked uncertain but eventually stepped aside, allowing her entry into his cabin.  
"What brings you here, Dark Lady?" He asked, having composed himself enough to speak without stuttering.

"I just wanted to check up on you and your devas. Their impeccable ears must've hurt after Souda's shouting." She said and gave him a sad smile, unsure how she could ask him how he was without Gundham insisting he was fine. 

Gundham nodded sagely. "They are currently partaking in their morning nap." He gestured to a hamster cage on his bedside table which housed the Four Dark Devas of Destruction, all sleeping together in a pile of hamsters.  
"I must say, Jum-P was especially rattled by today's events. He practically refused to leave my scarf."  
"Is he feeling better now?" she asked and looked into the hamster cage. "What about their caretaker?"

"He has settled down nicely," Gundham said, eyes fixed on the sleeping hamsters. "Though I must advise you not speak to harshly, lest you disturb their sacred rest."  
"I promise." She whispered loudly and stood back up. "And what about you? Is your vessel's ear alright?" she asked softly. 

"I-" Gundham looked somewhat perplexed. "I assure you, Dark Lady, no physical harm has befallen me. I am quite alright."

"What about emotional damage? Is the heart okay?" She asked, poking the sleeping bear with not just metaphorical prongs, but a whole pitchfork. Either this was gonna go great or it was going to end up going to motherfucking cockshit.

Gundham turned crimson in an instant. He had to physically fight against the instinct to hide. "I- As I previously alluded I am- perfectly fine." He said, at last, trying to suppress the urge to throw up.

"You- your vessel doesn't look okay. Do you need my help with a ritual of revitalization? My blood isn't a virgin but I have studied my fair share on a few spells..." she told him. 

Gundham let out a pained laugh. "As usual, your perception is flawless, Dark Lady. I must confess- though I am unsure of the reasoning behind it, that I feel a pressing sadness. No doubt, yet another curse has befallen me, though I am seemingly unable to break it." He sighed and played pulled on his scarf nervously.

"I might have an idea of what could help with this pressing matter," she said, already having a plan brewing. "I believe we have some material necessities for the ritual that might solve this ailment we have to collect though." 

Gundham raised his eyebrows in confusion. "To what are you referring?" He asked, unable to keep the curiosity hidden in his words.

"A good ole' reconciliation spell. It requires popcorn, a bad movie, and Souda." she said. "Sometimes you must let your vessel act human, just like you need to take a puppy for a walk."

Gundham's heart skipped a beat. "D-don't get him! He'll be angry with me!" He suddenly exclaimed, the panic making him completely forget his persona.

"What makes you think that, Gundham?" Sonia asked, only wishing to envelop him in a hug and tell him that everything would work out fine.

"He said so, he said I'm- ah-" Gundham trailed off, recalling both the conversation they'd had yesterday and Souda's outburst during the motive announcement. "That I'm "not normal." He said at last, so quiet it was practically a whisper.

"What do you mean not normal?" Sonia asked. "Sit?"

They sat on the edge of Gundham's bed, and he wrung his hands together nervously in his lap. "I- I don't want to say it." He admitted, voice shaking. "You'll be angry too, and I don't want that."

"I promise, on my future as the regent of Novoselic, that I won't get angry with you, Gundham."

Gundham curled his knees up to his chest, resting his feet on the edge of the bed and looking down stubbornly. "I- I hadn't realized it was wrong. You have to believe me." He said, hugging himself tighter. "I'm- what did Souda call it? Bysexual?"

"Just because it's not the standard doesn't mean it's wrong you know?" Sonia told him. "Besides, normal isn't always the best you know? I mean wouldn't it be boring to have half of the population off limits?" Sonia said. "It's not wrong."  
"Bisexuality isn't wrong, Gundham, and neither is homosexuality or any sexuality. You should choose your partner based on who they are as a person, not on their sex."

What? That wasn't at all what Souda had told him. "But- that can't be right. "Souda told me himself it wasn't normal- and today he-" Gundham's voice hitched in a manner, not at all like the Supreme Overlord of Ice.

"Souda is scared and way off limits. He's wrong and he's terrified. There are some pretty nasty people in the world and sometimes they have kids and push their prejudice onto their otherwise sweet children. That doesn't define who they are though." She said cordially. "A majority of humans prefer to mate with the opposite sex, but there are also humans who seek those of the same and others who don't mind their partners' gender. No one should be berated and demonized for choosing who they want to love or not choosing. Gundham, you are great as you are, and I'm sure if we talked to Souda we'd find out that he doesn't think you're wrong or disgusting or anything like that. He's being rude and terrified and he's compartmentalizing."

Gundham's eyes were wide, and his head spun. His view of the world had been turned on its head more times than he cared to count the last two days, and he felt dizzy from the force of it. He wanted to answer, but his voice wouldn't bare it. All he managed was a whispered: "So... Souda doesn't hate me?"  
"I highly doubt that. Right now I think the person he hates the most is himself." Sonia admitted her suspicions. "Point is Gundham, you're not wrong for liking who you do."

He nodded slowly. "I- Alright. I suppose I will trust you." He relaxed slightly, feeling the weight that had been pressing down on him since his and Souda's conversation lifting.  
Still, he was wondering something else.  
"Dark Lady, if you may, could you tell me why Souda feels this way about himself?"  
"He probably grew up with like-minded people, so he's been suppressing it." Sonia reasoned. "It's not his fault, it's the way he was brought up." 

"Ah-" Gundham nodded to himself. Perhaps it was similar to when you had to train a rescued beast. Let them know that humans weren't dangerous, and show them proof to that.  
He slowly uncurled from his position, sitting down normally by the edge of the bed. "You have- somewhat cured the sadness, I feel." He admitted slowly. "It is not all gone, but it has subsided somewhat, for now."  
"That's a relief. You see? The little vessel is feeling much better now that you let it out for a little while." Sonia said with a cheery smile. 

Gundham nodded to himself. "I suppose you- were right. Truthfully, I just feel exhausted now." He said, fighting to keep from yawning (something that certainly wouldn't be appropriate for the Supreme Overlord of Ice.)  
"Do you wish to recuperate alone without the presence of another puny human, who most likely wouldn't be able to withstand your supreme powers if accidentally unleashed while you rested?"  
"I-" Gundham was used to being alone, so the unconventional resistance he faced when trying to agree took him off guard. "I suppose I- I wouldn't mind terribly if you- were to keep me company." He admitted, at last, immediately burying his red face in his arms at the words.  
"Then so be it. If it's something the supreme overlord of ice has asked of me I'm afraid not even a princess can refute," she said with a happy little smile. 

She'd finally gotten closer to Gundham. 

Gundham nodded, feeling drowsiness overtake him. His eyes slid shut, and he felt the mattress dip beside him as Sonia laid down as well. He wanted to remind her of his curse, but the sleepiness was causing his mouth to remain unmoving. He hadn't needed to worry though since Sonia made sure to not touch him, even as she kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs up on the bed. He wanted to say something else, but darkness overtook him and he fell into sleep before he had a chance.

\---

Meanwhile the two napped, our dear Nagito was having another fanatic moment, currently begging Hajime to let him go see Souda in anguish.

"For the last time Nagito. Your presence will do no good right now. I'm not having you hurt again, you got that?" Hajime admonished, blocking Nagito's path to the door.

"Hajime, you should understand by now!" Nagito repined. "You've witnessed it yourself, how beautiful it is to watch someone rise from despair and give light to hope, Hajime please, I need it!"

"If you do that, you're going to make the situation worse. I don't give a squat about your Hope, but what we need right now is to not fight amongst ourselves! We'll have to leave this to Sonia and Gundham, okay?" Reasoning with Nagito was synonym to repeatedly bashing your head in a brick wall (Hajime wondered if that analogy made him a masochist? God, he hoped not) but Hajime wasn't relenting.  
"Please?!" he was basically begging on his knees right now. "Hajime, please, I'll do anything, absolutely anything you ask me to if you just let me see this, I don't ask for anything else because well, I shouldn't be entitled to, but please, let me see this."

"Nagito. I'm sorry, but you can't. I can't have you messing with this right now, what if you get hurt?" Hajime said, trying desperately to get Nagito to understand. He didn't want things to get worse between him and Souda, and Nagito's comments wouldn't exactly be helping the situation.  
On the other hand, maybe he could distract him...  
Hajime stepped into Nagito's personal space and kissed him forcefully, tangling his hands in Nagito's still relatively flat white hair.

As the two separated Nagito's deranged look was still there, although this time mixed with something else...  
"That's what you're going to use anything for? I can do more, just ask. Or maybe you don't want to ask?"

"I want you to shut up and kiss me again." Hajime insisted, keeping his arms around Nagito's neck and hoping to god he wouldn't start rambling about hope again.

"Hajime, I didn't know you harbored such needs- you know, if this is what you want me to do so I get to go I'll happily do more." he purred, stepping closer and obediently kissed him again. 

Hajime's stomach sank, but if he could distract Nagito until Souda calmed down... Instead of answering he deepened the kiss, slowly backing up until they bumped into the bedside.

Nagito fell over him, pinning him to the bed. "To think that you're so deprived that you're lusting for lowly trash like me, you really are pitiful. So tell me, Hajime, what do you need me to do?" 

Hajime rolled his eyes. "I'm not "lusting" for anything, I'm doing this because I love you, silly. And shit- are you really going to make me say it Nagito?" His cheeks flushed a bright red, and he panted from the harsh kissing.

"I told you, I'd do absolutely anything you asked me to:" he purred, finally getting distracted from his original intentions, and not much later clothes were discarded

\---

Meanwhile, Gundham awoke to the rattling sound of his Dark Devas, who had apparently woken up and were demanding attention. He quietly got up, as to avoid rousing Sonia, who was still asleep on the bed and went over to their cage, picking up the bag of seeds he always carried on his person.  
He picked up the Devas, placing them on his lap and pouring some seeds into his open palm.  
"You will need to be quiet," He told them. "The Dark Lady has yet to rise from her slumber."

About then Souda had gotten enough of overthinking the truths and just needed a friend to talk to, so he went to the only person he didn't yet feel completely betrayed by- Gundham- and knocked on his door.

Gundham snapped to attention as the knock sounded, quickly putting his Devas back in their cage and throwing in the remainder of the seeds. He got up, noting his still disheveled appearance and running eyeliner but since he didn't have time to fix it, shrugging it off, and opening the door.  
"Who dares disturb me, the Supreme Over-" his words died on his tongue as he saw his visitor, Kazuichi Souda.

"Yeah- hi... It's me." Souda said awkwardly. "I just- I just wanted someone, anyone to talk to." 

Gundham's mind was a confused mess. Sonia had assured him Souda didn't hate him but- "Why did you elect to contact me, of all people?" He asked, perhaps a little more confrontational than necessary.

"It feels like you're the only one on this island I could talk to out of everyone," he admitted quietly. "If you don't want me here that's- that's fine, I said some really nasty stuff-" 

"Wait-" Gundham said, as it looked like Souda was about to leave. "You felt you could talk to- to me? Why?" He truly didn't understand. He- if anyone- would be the last person one talked to. He was terrible with people, greatly preferring animals to human company in most settings.

"It's just, you were nice to me yesterday, but- don't worry about it. It's okay I get it if you don't want to talk to me. Just know that nothing that I said was aimed at you.." he said with a trying smile.

"No please- come in. I must say both the Dark Lady and I have been somewhat- that is to say- concerned for you. You have not been yourself, as of late." Gundham said, realizing he was babbling and quickly stepping aside to let Souda into his cottage.

"What's Sonia doing sleeping in your room?" Souda asked, hurt. 

Gundham had completely forgotten about Sonia, who was still sleeping on his bed. "Ah- That is- It's not what you think!" He said, red-faced. "Come, let us go outside so that we do not wake her." He said, walking out of his cottage with Souda in tow.

"What did you two do? Out of all people, I trust you!" he exclaimed, hurt but this time just joking. It was time he gave in to his rival. He had the girl in bed, he'd clearly won.

"I assure you, nothing like what you're imagining happened. We merely talked, and fell asleep." Gundham explained, not wanting Souda to get angry with him again.

"It's okay Gundham. If you two have feelings for each other then I should respect that," he said, that being the most mature thing he'd said in a long time.

"Ah it's not-" Gundham blushed. He wouldn't completely deny that he might feel some attraction from Sonia but if anything, Souda was the one he- Never mind.  
"In any case-" He continued, changing the subject. "What was it you wished to converse about?"

"Honestly? Anything but the notes. I've been overthinking it way too much." Souda shrugged. "Do you still have the Gundham Gundam?"

Gundham picked it up from his pocket and held it up. "I do indeed, though I must say, it needs a better name. "Gundham Gundam" is a hassle to say."  
"Having you say it makes you sound like a pokemon." Souda chuckled lightly. 

Gundham looked at him curiously. "Is that another one of these human indulgences that you are so fond of?"  
"Yeah. It's a game about catching wild creatures, training them and battling with them. Maybe Nanami has a game?" Souda suggested.

That sounded...interesting. "Perhaps. You will have to show me sometime." Gundham said, turning the toy robot around in his hand.  
"For now though, perhaps you might help me come up with a name fitting a Supreme Lord of Ice, for this...trinket?" The hope glittering in his eyes was uncharacteristic, but Gundham couldn't help it. He'd never had a toy before, let alone been able to name one.  
"How about something ice-related? What kind of aura does it give?" Souda asked, once again adapting to Gundhams way of speech. 

"Hmm... It is a small thing, yet it's giving off a somewhat warm and nostalgic feeling?" Gundham said uncertainly. It was true, he couldn't look at the toy without smiling, even if it was just a piece of metal. "I sense it has the potential for low levels of amity related powers."  
"Call it Amy then?" Souda suggested his sim+tic brain not really trying hard at being creative.

Gundham looked at the doll pensively. "Very well. By the unyielding influence of the gods from this and all other realities, you shall henceforth be known as Amy!" He bellowed, raising the doll as one might with a shiny sword, excitement glittering in his eyes. He laughed, loud and energetic, and slowly brought the doll back down.  
"Cute," Souda said with a grin. "Where do you think Nanami is?" 

"The power of the all-seeing eye, bestowed upon me by my hellhound earring, tells me she is most likely in the Hotel Lobby," Gundham said confidently, completely missing how Souda fondly rolled his eyes. "I suggest we awaken the Dark Lady, however, and inform her of our intentions."

"Yeah, uhm how about you go do that? I'll- I'll wait out here." Souda said and took up his eHandbook to check on his pet. 

"Very well," Gundham said, pocketing Amy and striding back into his cottage. 

"Are you awake, Dark Lady?" He asked gently as he approached her, Sonia's eyelashes fluttering open at his words. She yawned and sat up.  
"Oh my! I must have been more tired than I thought." She said, rubbing her eyes. 

"I wanted to inform you that Souda and I are venturing to the Hotel for a while. You might join us, should you feel rested enough." He offered, leaning against the wall beside the bed as he awaited her response.  
"If you don't mind I'd love to accompany you. What are you planning to do?" Sonia asked, rubbing her eyes. 

"I think Souda wanted to introduce me to some kind of video game, though I am not entirely certain," Gundham said, crossing his arms in thought. "Though my All Seeing Eye usually lets me privy to all the secrets of this cosmos, this particular one is eluding me. Perhaps something is interfering with the lei lines..."  
"That is a possibility. How familiar is your element with the internet?" Sonia asked and crept out of bed. "Let's go?"  
They left the cottage together, picking up Souda who was fiddling with his Student Handbook. "Greetings Souda! I hear you are feeling better?" Sonia said, smiling brightly at him.  
"Yeah, let's stay away from Nagito's hut," he said and laid down his handbook.

Sonia looked a bit mellow at that but quickly bounced back. "So, Gundham told me we were going somewhere? If you wouldn't mind, where are we headed?"  
"The hotel lobby to find Chiaki. I'm thinking of showing Gundham pokémon." Souda said, an apologetic grin spreading all over his face.

Sonia clapped her hands together. "Oh! I've only played that game once or twice, but I am certain Gundham will enjoy it. Alright then, shall we get going? This experience will be hella rad!"  
"Hella? Rad?" Souda chuckled. "I think so too princess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw,  
> we're gonna upload another komahina fanfic simultaneous to this.  
> It's going to be.  
> bad.
> 
> Check it out?


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... More sub-par smut writing incoming! If you don't want to read it (Hey- no judgment on our part,) just skip the beginning of the chapter to the ---  
> The smut really isn't that plot relevant, so you're fine skipping it.
> 
> Also if you're wondering what happened to the plot...Exam week happened to the plot. We were already stressed and worried enough without wanting to add heavy angst to the mix so instead you get this strange sprawling...thing.  
> Yay for RP fics!

While Souda, Sonia, and Gundham set off to find Nanami and borrow a pokémon game, Nagito and Hajime were in various states of undress, Nagito surprisingly still on top.   
"So, Hajime," Nagito purred. "To think you'd stoop so low as to go for someone as me."   
The only thing that comment did for him was to flip them around, Hajime silencing him with a kiss as he ran his hand down Nagito's stomach. ¨  
"Hey- you know I don't like it when you berate yourself like this," Hajime growled predatorily and went for his neck, his ice pack having been discarded way back. 

Hajime's shirt was open, though he hadn't had the forethought to take it off, though his tie was long since discarded. He felt it sticking to his body though, as Nagito's hands roamed beneath it, grabbing on to his back. He broke off the kiss, and silenced Nagito with a finger on his lips when he breathed in to talk, no doubt to spout more self-deprecation.

"You wanted me to order you around? Fine." 

Hajime panted, sounding decidedly less commanding than he wanted, this mostly due to the fact that Nagito Komaeda was a damn good kisser. 

"You aren't allowed to say any  
self-deprecating things about yourself for the duration of this, is that understood?"   
He punctuated the sentence by returning to roughly kissing Nagito's neck.

Nagito shivered under Hajime's touch, tilting his head back as his hips involuntarily bucked up at his boyfriend. He let out a chipped exhale, his fingers finding their way to the hem of his pants and closed his eyes.  
"Okay-" he breathed heftily.

"Good," Hajime growled, surprising himself.   
Clearly, this whole "ordering Nagito around" thing was getting to him, even though he'd only made use of it to further his own agenda. This revelation caused him to blush bright red, and he started kissing Nagito's pale chest to distract himself.   
"Have I ever told you that you're goddamn gorgeous?" He asked airily.

"What? Is it the hair again?" Nagito giggled. "Not sick of the coconut scent yet?" he laughed, immensely enjoying the attention for once as his hands slid up Hajime's back and up to grab the sheets.   
"And what about you handsome?" he murmured, disheveled. ¨

It felt good, almost alarmingly so, to have Nagito compliment him. For some reason, having Nagito half undressed beneath him made Hajime more inclined to believe him, or maybe he was just distracted to the point of not second-guessing. Either way, Hajime shivered as Nagito ran his hands over his back and chest, and bent down to give the other a kiss on his beautiful lips.   
"I'll endure anything if I get to be close to you- even coconut perfume." He joked as he broke the kiss, practically talking against Nagito's open mouth.

"Such a brave knight. Does the good sir knight want to claim his prize and ravish the one he conquered?" Nagito purred back, kissing him again, hands back down Hajime's pants.  
"Is this okay?"

Hajime nodded enthusiastically. Nagito's language was really powerful and was making him way more excited than he had any right to be, considering that they hadn't even fully undressed yet. Hajime momentarily stopped his attempts at kissing every single piece of Nagito's exposed skin to pull off his shirt, throwing it in a random direction, before continuing.  
"Dammit Nagito- you can't say shit like that." He muttered against his chest.

"No? But what if I want to? Whatcha gonna do 'bout it?" he asked, voice breaking as Hajime grazed a nipple of his.

"I guess- I'll just have to be more convincing," Hajime said hoarsely, as he tangled one hand in Nagito's white hair and used another to support him, now practically lying on Nagito's chest

"Mind showing me?" he asked innocently. 

Hajime gave him a smirk which was incredibly misleading, seeing as Nagito's touch was practically driving him crazy right then and there.  
His hands dove down to unbutton Nagito's pants, seeing as his own were almost off by that point, and they both panted harshly at each other, having long since forgotten the time. 

\--- (If you didn't want to read the smut, the fic henceforth is safe for you!)

After borrowing a copy of "Pokemon Black and White" from Chiaki, Sonia Souda and Gundham had ended up in the hotel lobby. Sonia and Gundham sat on either side of Souda, who'd gotten to hold the DS and was currently skipping through Professor Juniper's intro dialogue as Gundham read eagerly over his shoulder.   
They out-voted Sonia and chose the male avatar, and were then forced to make a tough decision.

What did they name the character?

"We should definitely go with some funny name, like My Dude!" Souda argued, "It's going to make the dialogue so much funnier to read. Or senpai!" 

After typing in "Senpai" and choosing the male avatar, the game started and the intro cutscene, which seemingly consisted of images of two huge pokemon and some guy with Green hair going through a coronation, the game started.  
The trio was immediately thrown into a debate between "Senpai" and two support characters over which starter to pick.  
There was a pig, which Souda informed them was a fire type, what looked like an otter which was a water type and a Green snake, obviously a grass type.  
"So... These are what you refer to as.. Pokemon?" Gundham asked, looking at the three creatures.

"Yeah. We should go for a fire type because they're cool, but the otter is much cuter, and the snake looks cool. Sonia, you get the call on this one." Souda said, already conflicted. 

Sonia gazed at the three creatures, obviously taking her time making the correct decision. "The snake has the most regal presence." She said at last. "It will make a loyal companion."  
Gundham nodded in agreement.   
"I sense an aura of deep-rooted loyalty and determination from it. A fine choice."

Immediately after choosing pokemon, Senpai was challenged to his first pokemon battle, and Sonia squealed in excitement. "We get to battle? Oh, how cool!"  
Since their Snivy was only level 5, they were limited to two moves, scratch, and growl.

"Gundham, wanna try?" Souda asked, offering the console to him. 

Gundham took the controls gingerly, tapping "scratch".  
"So this game is basically beasts fighting among themselves? How curious."  
He said, looking down as the pixelated Snivy was hit by Oshawotts tackle.

Their two opponents, Cheren and Bianca, were quickly defeated and Senpai was ready to finally start his very own pokemon adventure! Sonia was almost out of her seat in excitement, Gundham was mainly confused since he'd just about never played a video game before and Souda was the only one actually paying attention as they meandered their way through the tedious tutorial segment.

As they walked through some tall grass, a wild Lillipup suddenly engaged them in battle." Oh! It's adorable! "Sonia exclaimed, already loving the dog pokemon.  
"Let's try to catch it! "Souda suggested.

"How do we- Right, we engage in a scathing battle to see who's powers are superior. I believe I have done this previously in otherworldy dimensions against the giants of time."  
Gundham said, sticking his tongue out to focus on the pokébattle that ensued.

They eventually managed to get the Lillipup down to red health and threw a Pokeball at it. Souda cheered as the ball snapped shut and the victory jingle told them the Capture was successful   
"Sweet! Good job man! Now then, what do we name this little guy?"

"Does- how does a beast of that size fit in a ball?" Gundham asked as the naming field came up. 

Souda shrugged. "Its a game, man. Don't worry about it." He inspected their caught pokemon. "Now then, since you caught it, you get to name it dude."

Gundham thought for a moment, before settling on an apt name.   
"How about Don-G?"

Souda held back a chuckle. "Well, I did say you'd get to name it." He smirked as he put in the name, watching as "Don-G" was added to the Pokedex.

Sonia cheered as Gundham, with the help of Souda, proceeded to level up both of their pokémon to level 8, in preparation for the battles and gym-fights that were sure to happen in Castelia city, their end goal.   
When they arrived, much to Souda's chagrin, the tutorial hell commenced as they were taught about poke-centers and poke-marts.   
"You can heal your party whenever you want for free? How progressive" Gundham commented as Souda explained how they worked.

"Communism?" Sonia pointed out asked, gladly healing their new digital pets for free.

"Seriously, it's a video game. Don't read too much into it." Souda insisted. "There isn't some secret" poke-government" managing all the poke-centers"

"Then how can they manage their business for free?" she asked, "How do they profit?"

Souda shrugged. "As I said, it's a video game. Maybe you can ask Nanami to tell you some fan theories." 

After that, they shut up as leaving the poke-center apparently made a long cutscene commence. They were introduced to a seriously creepy and also really strangely dressed old man preaching to a crowd about how "pokemon should be separated from trainers for their own good," and a bunch of similar nonsense. Also, his grunts were dressed kind of like medieval knights, something that made Sonia raise an eyebrow.  
Souda- on the other hand- sat up excitedly.  
"Oh! Is this the evil team of this game? Wow, they look badass!"

"Aren't they speaking the truth? Then if so isn't senpai the evil team?" Gundham asked. "Or do we take well care of our Don-G?"

Souda looked at the black text scrolling by.  
"Actually... I'm not sure. Though there are stats where we can measure our Pokémon's happiness. I suppose we'll have to keep playing." 

One of Senpai's rivals, Cheren walked up to him and started to discuss the message. He claimed that Pokémon were happy the way they were and that the old man had been talking nonsense.  
Sonia- on grounds that Cheren's hairline was the most tragic thing she'd ever seen- discredited this immediately. 

"Can we join their team?" Gundham asked after a while.

Souda shook his head. "Nope, we can't make decisions in this. We'll just have to follow the main story."   
As they left the conversation, another character walked up to them. A boy (girl? The sprite wasn't exactly clear,) around Senpai's age with long green hair tied into a ponytail and a black and white cap.  
"Your pokemon... It's saying such strange things." The boy said, and Souda snorted.  
"What's up with this weirdo?"

"Wait, what is the creature saying?" Gundham asked confused, clicking onward in the conversation

Cheren butted into the conversation, basically reiterating Souda's words from before. The boy was quiet for a moment, before responding.  
"Oh- I suppose you can't hear it either. What a shame." 

Souda shook his head. "I'm pretty sure humans can't actually talk to pokemon, so I'm not sure what this guy is smoking but I want some!"

"Perhaps the Pokemon is saying its name?" Sonia asked with a shrug.

Souda chuckled. "Yeah, of course. "

On screen, the dialogue continued, Gundham intensely focusing on the spoken text. 

"Your pokemon is saying such curious things... I want to hear more. Please, Senpai! Will you be my battling opponent?" The boy asked, and immediately a battle screen initiated, while a chiptune started to play. 

"Oh, we're battling him? Guess he'll be our main rival for this game then." Souda said.   
"He's even got a custom battle music, so we know he's gonna be important."

Sonia let out a snicker at the 'please senpai' but kept quiet to let the two boys enjoy the game. 

Their opponent's first pokemon was a Purrloin, a normal dark type, so Souda advised Gundham to use scratch. Don-G fought valiantly, and though he managed to beat the Purrloin, his health was dangerously low.

Oh no, we have to perform one of the healing rituals, is Don-G okay?" Gundham asked anxiously, not really fond of the animal coming to harm.

"Switch him out, for now, we'll beat his next pokemon with Snivy," Souda advised. While switching pokemon, a battle message appeared from the other boy. "Let me hear it! Your Pokémon's inner voice!" He said, and Souda shook his head.

The next opposing pokemon turned out to be a Patrat, this one slightly higher in level than the Purrloin.  
"Oh! He has multiple pokemon! We haven't seen that before!" Sonia exclaimed as the boy had his Patrat use tail whip, lowering Snivy's defense.

"What do I do now? I must end the insolent beast who dare injure the regal serpent we tamed!" Gundham said, beginning to button-mash.

Souda smiled, grabbing the controls from his hands.  
"This isn't a real-time fighter, Gundham. You can't attack by button mashing. Just keep spamming vine whip, that's your strongest attack. This guy only has two pokemon anyway, so you'll beat him in no time."   
He handed the controls back to Gundham, who pressed "Vine Whip" and watched as the Patrat's health swooped down to yellow. 

Two hits later and the battle was won, though both Senpai's pokemon were half-fainted.

"What your pokemon are saying... It seems I have some things to think about." Their opponent said on screen.  
"Oh- Pardon. I got so excited I didn't even have a chance to introduce myself. I am sorry, I am not very...adept at handling humans, I am afraid. My name is N, it is nice to meet you and your pokemon, Senpai."

"Your idea of naming ourselves senpai was amusing." Gundham chuckled and pressed forward in the dialogue.

After N was done talking, he walked off the screen and only Senpai remained. "That was weird... Pokemon got oddly deep all of the sudden." Souda commented.  
"Anyway guess we should head over to the poke center. We'll be doing our first gym battle soon after all!"

\---

Over in Hajime's cabin, things had considerably cooled down. Both boys had tired themselves out and were presently lying in bed, still practically undressed. Hajime was shivering slightly from the cold air, but he couldn't be bothered to get out of bed and climb under the covers, so instead, he pressed his chest to Nagito's back, winding his arms around him and complaining.  
"I'm cold, warm me up..."

"Yeah..." Nagito breathed, curling up with him, mixed feelings of contentment and panic stirring within him. "Did you like that?"

Hajime nodded enthusiastically against the back of Nagito's neck. "I did, I really really did." He said. The words were insignificant, but then again no words could possibly explain the intense emotions he's been experiencing- still was experiencing.   
"I love you so much Nagito. I want to keep doing this forever." He sighed happily against his boyfriend's neck.

"I love you too Hajime, can I turn around?" he asked, needing to confirm visually that it was Hajime and Hajime only, just to calm his nerves.

Hajime let his grip slacken slightly, and Nagito quickly whipped around, meeting his gaze with a concerned expression.   
"Hey- what's up Nagito?" Hajime asked, feeling dread wipe away the blissful expression on his face.

"Honestly it's nothing, it's okay now," Nagito said, inhaling Hajime's smell.  
"It's much better like this," he said, calming notably. 

Hajime looked at him dubiously, but he could feel the tension draining out of his boyfriend's body, so be burrowed his face against his chest instead. "Guess you'll be permanent big spoon then..." He mused.

They laid cuddling there for a while until Nagito decided to open his eyes and noted the camera. "Hajime-"

Hajime looked up at him blearily. "Yeah?" He yawned against Nagito's chest, pressing himself closer to mooch of his body heat.

"Camera." he reminded him. "Next time-" Nagito swallowed hard. Was there even going to be the next time?"Next time, let's make sure there are sheets, no?"

The remainder made Hajime's skin crawl, and a shiver wrack through his body. "Yeah- Yeah we will. Ugh, I hate the constant surveillance, makes me feel unsafe."

"Don't worry, no matter what I'll protect you with my life." he murmured and closed his eyes again and sighed comfortably. "I'll get you out of this, no matter what."

"We'll both get out," Hajime muttered. "We'll get out and be together and you're showing me your treehouse and duck pond and pictures of you with auburn hair. Aren't you?"  
He asked, irrational fear leaking into his voice. He didn't know if it was the talking about cameras or the drama with Souda or just the stress, in general, that was to blame, but he really did feel suddenly uncertain. Hajime decided he did not like that feeling at all.

"Yeah. I'll make it happen." Nagito promised, pulling Hajime's head close to his chest. "I'll keep you safe."

Hajime snorted. "You're calling me a valiant knight. Clearly, you should look in a mirror, sir Nagito."  
He felt waves of comfort dissipating the anxiety and sighed in comfort. It was still there, in the back of his mind, but he could suppress it for now.

"I'm more like lady luck, wouldn't you say?" Nagito joked, referring to their most recent activities. 

"Well...who's to say there weren't female knights? Maybe you're a reincarnate of Mulan." Hajime mused, looking up and smiling lazily.

"Or...maybe a member of Artemis's hunt?" He speculated. "You certainly look like you could have been acquainted with the goddess of the moon. Although...maybe the goddess of beauty would be more fitting." 

"Oh, you do not want to acquaint yourself with her." Nagito snickered. "Although you look like you've already done that." 

Hajime wanted to go back to bliss and enjoy the compliment, he really did. But the nagging voice in his mind that Nagito had kissed away earlier was back, insisting that he was just a normal guy. Didn't look particularly good, didn't have a particularly good personality, couldn't even do anything particular. He hid his face in Nagito's chest to hide his saddened expression. "You're prettier than I am." He mumbled, trying to get his derailing feelings under control.

"And you're more handsome than me. Plus you're sweet and the patience you have is astounding. I mean to have done something like that with someone like me? That takes skill, Hajime." Nagito said, stroking his hair.

"I thought we'd agreed on no self-deprecation?"  
Hajime said, a mock scolding tone creeping in his voice. He recognized the hypocrisy in him forbidding Nagito's self-deprecation, whilst he couldn't stop his own brain doing the exact same thing, but he didn't let that stop him. Like he'd told Nagito many times previously, they both needed to learn to trust each other.

"I meant that thing you did..." Komaeda told his boyfriend, beginning to lightly massage his neck.

Hajime's cheeks flushed. "Can you- not talk about shit like that so casually, please?"

He had no idea how Nagito could keep a straight face, saying most of the things he did, whether that be offers to kill or talking about....private stuff.

"What do you want to talk about then? The weather or why you have the wide array of monokuma plushies in your room that you have?" Nagito laughed light-heartedly

"Oh god, the plushies. I have never wanted to burn something so badly in my life." His voice wavered in (mostly) mock disgust.  
"I swear to god, they spy on me in my sleep. I have an array of haunted plushies just chilling on my wall. That sounds like the heading of a god damned Nosleep story."

"When you get back home you'll have one good creepypasta to write," Nagito said amused. 

Hajime snorted. "Not if it's going up on Nosleep I won't. Have you ever heard of a good Nosleep story, because I sure haven't."

"So tell me more, how would the story progress?" Nagito snorted.

Hajime thought for a moment. "Maybe the plushies would start moving? You'd be my clueless lover who gets threatened by the demon or whateverthefuck is haunting me, of course. Maybe we'd, like, find plushies in weird places or shit like that."

"Like where? In the shower? In the toilet?" Nagito snickered. "Is it possible that it could be a demonic robotic bear who puts teenagers in killing games?"

"I was more thinking along the lines of next to our bed, watching us sleep, but god damn you are right. Finding a haunted plushie in the shower would be terrifying."   
Hajime admitted, laughing along with Nagito.

"Don't let monokuma read it, maybe he'll implement that feature," Nagito whispered loudly.

Hajime shrugged. "Oh god please no. Anything but that." He laughed loudly as Nagito teasingly walked his fingers up his naked back, attempting to mimic a creeping spider.   
"Stop it! That tickles!"

"Oho?" Nagito dug his fingers into Hajime's sides and began tickling him seriously. 

Hajime broke out in uncontrollable giggles, futilely swatting at Nagito's chest to stop the assault. "Stop it- You're awful!" He managed between giggles, laughing so hard his stomach was hurting.

Nagito joined in on the laughter. "I know. Do you want me to stop?" he asked, his heart sinking. He knew it. But hopefully, he'd been at least a little bit useful to Hajime now. 

Hajime panted for air. "Yeah-" He managed, prying Nagito's hands off him.   
His red face soon turned into a mischevious grin, as he straddled Nagito, beginning to tickle the other instead.   
"Ha! Feel my revenge!" He shouted triumphantly.

The straddling had been too much for Nagito, being stuck under him, being tickled, the energy- he began freaking out and pleading for him to stop with tears running down his face.

Hajime immediately got off him, throwing himself toward the edge of the bed to give Nagito space.  
"Oh god, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think.." He panted, feeling self-loathing gripping him tightly.

Nagito immediately scrambled up and hugged himself panting, coming down from his panic rather quickly.  
"It's- it's okay, you didn't know, I'm okay now, and it's you." he reminded himself, looking over to Hajime on the floor, the fear beginning to ebb away.   
"You're okay, you're a nice guy. You're my boyfriend and I love you. It was just harmless tickling."

Hajime tried to smile reassuringly, despite his heart beating loudly in his ears.  
"Yeah- yeah it's just me. It's okay Nagito, you're safe with me. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again, okay?"   
He dared to scoot a bit closer to Nagito on the bed, opening his arms and allowing Nagito as much physical contact as he was comfortable with. 

"Yeah! It's you Hajime. You're nice, charming, a good, guy, nice, compassionate, thoughtful. You brought me breakfast and let me shower and help me with my bruises. Like this one right here!" He said, poking his jaw to give him a physical reminder of where he currently was.

Hajime nodded. "That's right. I'd never hurt you, Nagito. I love you, so much." He said gently, trying to make himself seem as non-threatening as possible.  
"I'm the guy who always make sure you drink orange juice at breakfast, and who braided your hair. It's me."

"Yeah, it's you." he hummed, reaching out to pull him in. "And the guy who just made that okay again, you know? The guy who just rocked my world? It's you, you're the good guy. Knight in shining armor." 

Hajime blushed but nodded. "You're okay Nagito, it's just me." He took a careful step forward, and when Nagito didn't flinch, gently placed a hand on his cheek. "Is this okay?" He asked gently.

"Yeah, yeah it's okay. I'm sorry Hajime." he apologized, leaning into his touch. "I'm so sorry, I thought I was okay, I thought I was good enough, it's my fault for thinking too highly of myself."

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for." Hajime frowned slightly, bringing his other hand up to cradle Nagito's face.  
"And I thought I'd told you not to put yourself down, it's obvious that these things don't happen immediately. You did really well just now, I'll just need to learn to not go too far, okay?"

"I really thought I'd be okay." He sniffled, looking up at Hajime with mournful eyes. Like a puppy. 

"You will be. You will be fine. Just give it some time." Hajime reassured him, meeting Nagito's mournful gaze with confidence.   
"I'll do everything to make sure of it, okay?"

"You really are a knight in shining armor, I don't know how you noticed me." he murmured and let his head sink into Hajime's hands. 

Hajime used one hand to guide Nagito'd head to rest on his shoulder, while he wound the other around his back. 

"I guess...I must have been really really lucky." He said affectionately, feeling just how true the words rang. 

Without the memories of his talent, Nagito felt like a splash of color in a bleak world. Hajime had a feeling that even his missing memories would pale in comparison to the feeling of Nagito's body pressed against his, his breath puffing gently at the back of his neck.

"I'd like to refute that." Nagito murmured and inhaled Hajime's scent, comfort washing over him.

"You're not allowed, because it's true. I'm stealing your title, you know. I'm the Ultimate Luckster now." Hajime said, smiling over Nagito's shoulder.

"Oh no, what about me? I'll have to take over as ultimate unluckster." Nagito said woefully, inching closer into the hug. He could have this, right?"

"Well," Hajime smiled. "They do say opposites attract.  
He lifted Nagito's head slightly until they were face to face, and pressed his lips to the corner of Nagito's mouth." Is this okay?" He asked gently.

Nagito contemplated it for a while. "Yes, it's okay." he nodded and let Hajime continue. "No further though, I'm spent. I mean if you want to then sure I'm up for it."

Hajime shook his head. "No, I'm tired too. Let's go check in with the others and then go to bed early?" He suggested, giving Nagito another kiss. 

"I'm...worried about Souda." He admitted, looking down at the ground. He knew Nagito's opinion on Souda, and he thought it mostly justified but at the same time... They had been friends, close even. 

"Why? He's an ultimate no? I know the hope that will arise from this despair is going to be gorgeous." Nagito told him, lovesick.

Hajime shrugged. "He seemed really bothered by the motive. I wonder what made him have such strange views of the world in the first place." He clenched his fists.  
"I don't really care about hope. I just want my friend back, you know?"

"No, you can't say that Hajime, of course, you care about hope! Without it, you all wouldn't be here and alive today." Nagito said, ushering him quiet.

Hajime shrugged. "Whatever you say. But please, Nagito could you promise me something?" He looked up again, winding his arms around Nagito's neck.

"It depends on what," Nagito told him doubtfully.

"Please, when we see Souda again. Don't- don't provoke him. I want him to work through whatever shit he's going through, and us being antagonizing won't help anything." Hajime said, looking up at Nagito pleadingly.

"I promise not to do anything deliberately," he swore. "I haven't tried to tick him off though. Not really."

Hajime looked at him dubiously. "What do you mean? You were totally antagonizing him earlier! Don't you realize that making fun of his sexuality is just as bad as when Souda made fun of me?"

"I didn't make fun of it, I just pointed out how ironic it was," Nagito said, not understanding what he'd done wrong.

Hajime sighed. "Right- yeah. Let's do this. How about we just, avoid that subject? I doubt he wants to talk about that any more anyway." 

"It was so nice to picture the hope that would sprout from that despair though, Hajime!" Nagito said, knees weak just remembering it.

"Nagito please you can't. Promise me you won't provoke him like that." Hajime said. "I'm afraid one of you are going to get hurt, so please."

"How is it provoking him? Is it not praise enough- ah but of course. He sees me for who I actually am, of course, he wouldn't want me even breathing the same air as him- I promise I won't provoke him again." Nagito swore timidly.

Hajime leaned closer to Nagito, leaning his forehead against the other's shoulder and shutting his eyes. "I- god I don't know how to explain this to you. I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, so please stop this self-deprecation. You're not trash at all, there's nothing wrong with you Nagito."

"It's okay, you don't have to say it, I already know it. I'm just so extremely lucky that you even bother looking at me." He said sweetly, clinging to Hajime.

Hajime carefully untangled Nagito's hands from clinging to his body, instead of guiding them to cup his face. "Please Nagito, not this again. I love you, okay? So I'll always want to look at you, no matter what."

"Yeah. I pity you for that." Nagito laughed bitterly and retracted his arms and gave Hajime space.

Hajime caught his hands, holding them between his own. "I consider myself incredibly privileged." He smiled brightly.  
"So don't say those things about yourself, okay? Because they aren't true."

"I don't lie, you know that." Nagito frowned.

Hajime frowned. "Okay, how about this? You trust that I don't lie either, right? So when I tell you that you're amazing, you have to believe me."  
He pressed his lips to their intertwined hands, kissing whatever of Nagito's hands he could reach from in between his own.

"Clever Hajime." Nagito snickered. "In that case believe me too that you're the best thing that's happened to me."

Hajime smiled. "Well, I am pretty great." He joked, smirking at the other.  
"Anyhow, we should...probably get dressed if we're gonna meet up with the others." He suggested, fighting the overwhelming urge to throw himself and Nagito back into bed and never get out again.

"Yeah- may I suggest a shower first?" Nagito asked, remembering how gross they must smell/look to others. Except for Hajime, he'd just managed to look even better.

Hajime nodded sheepishly. "Right- yeah. Probably a good idea." He blushed despite himself, feeling irrationally embarrassed, considering what they'd just been doing. Get. It. Together. Hajime"  
So-uh do you want to shower together or?"   
Well, that could have gone worse.

"It's up to you, but I have my shower stuff in your room now," Nagito told him.

"Oh- right. Yeah, that was a stupid idea." Hajime didn't know why he was reacting so strongly to this, but his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. "Sorry- you go ahead." 

"Yeah, I'll go shower there. See you back here after?" Nagito said, getting up to pull on his clothes again. 

Hajime nodded, feeling stupid and embarrassed and suddenly just wanting to hide away from everything. "Yeah- see you then. I'll uh-" He cut himself off. "See you." He finished lamely.

Nagito nodded, leaving the cabin wearing only pants and his tank top, green jacket hung over one shoulder. Hajime awkwardly waved to him as he left.   
He guessed irrational embarrassment was just a part of being in a relationship? In any case, he felt a bit better now that Nagito left, getting a moment to calm himself down.  
He suddenly became aware of just how dirty he felt, and jumped in the shower as quickly as possible, wanting to meet Nagito once he was clean.

Nagito showered quickly, soaping up in a new record time and got ready, his hair now even poofier than the day before. If he got ready quickly maybe he'd have time to admire Souda's despair for just a little while.

After cleaning himself and putting on his clothes (He'd practically moved his wardrobe into Nagito's cabin at this point) Hajime felt much better. He exited the cabin, finding Nagito already waiting for him outside his cabin.  
"Wow yeah- the power of a shower is truly terrifying." He said, jokingly pointing at Nagito's hair, almost back to its own fluffiness.

"Try brushing it without that coconut stuff. You haven't seen anything yet." Nagito told him. 

"I will, at some point." Hajime smiled. "But for now, let's go check the dining hall, see if anyone else has assembled yet." He grabbed Nagito's hand, and they walked together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I (Ladygold) want to brag about not once googling the plot of B/W for this chapter.  
> Honestly...I've played that game so many times over its probably sad. Oh well! At least it came in handy here!


	23. You know, we really should do away with this bonding over food trope.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy holidays and new years to everyone!  
> This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but we hope you'll enjoy it anyway!

Nagito and Hajime walked into the lobby, side by side, Nagito coming to an abrupt halt as he spotted Souda, Gundham, and Sonia sitting hunched over something.

Hajime swallowed thickly, but he knew this would happen. The guys hadn't noticed them yet, but Sonia looked up to meet his gaze smiling invitingly. "Hello, Hinata, Komaeda." The others looked up at her words.

"Hello, Sonia. May I ask what you're up to?" Nagito asked with a feigned innocent smile. 

"Oh! We're playing a video game." She smiled brightly, as Gundham shut off the DS and folded it. "We're catching creatures and battling! It's a lot of fun." Gundham nodded in careful agreement, having been very entranced by the various creatures from the world of Pokemon.

Souda refused to look at the others, almost hiding behind Gundham and Sonia. 

Hajime cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, we wanted to check in with everyone, to make sure- well that everything was fine. But you seem to be doing okay so," He said, wanting out of there as soon as possible. The awkward air was far more than he could take at the moment.

Souda clenched his fists tightly, but couldn't bring himself to say anything. His heart pounded and anger, hopelessness, and guilt among other emotions all mixed together in his chest to press down uncomfortably on his heart.   
He wanted to get the hell away from the lobby, Hajime's awkward demeanor, and Nagito fucking Komaeda's smug face.

"Ah. How kind of you, Hinata-san," Sonia spoke up, smiling sweetly as always. "We are doing well. I trust you and Komaeda-san are feeling similarly?"

Hajime nodded sheepishly, eyes flitting up toward the staircase. "Yeah we're- we're good." He glanced to his side worriedly, but Nagito was making no move to join in or say anything mean. He seemed content to stand in silence, staring out into thin air. Hajime felt a wave of relief. He really hadn't wanted to deal with Nagito on top of everything else.

"Well, we should head out anyway," Souda said lowly, pointedly turning his head away and focusing on putting away the pillow he'd been leaning against to its proper place.

Gundham laid the DS down, almost as if in a trance. "I believe this is adequate time, yes. My Dark Devas will probably require feeding soon." He said, slowly coming back to reality. He'd been enjoying the game more than anyone else, though he preferred looking at all the different creatures to actual battling. 

"Yeah- we should probably head up then," Hajime said, turning toward Nagito. 

"I'll come with you to feed them!" Sonia said, putting down the pillows as Souda also voiced his agreement. 

Sonia smiled excitedly and Gundham felt a strange calm wash over him. He could count on one hand the number of people who had suggested they wanted to spend time with him, even if it were just to see his Dark Devas. "Very well. Let us make haste, lest the calamity befalls us." He proclaimed, standing next to Souda.

"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Souda said and began walking towards the cottages.

"Thank you, Hajime, for letting me see some of Souda's despair and hope. Truly, thank you." Nagito said sweetly from his side and pressed up against him. "That was beautiful."

Hajime shrugged as the trio left, Sonia waving to them over her shoulder. "I'm just glad it didn't end up worse, even if I still worry about him." He sighed despondently, allowing himself a moment to despair over their broken friendship. Then he changed the subject.  
"Anyway, I'm proud of you. You kept your promise and didn't antagonize him. Thank you, Nagito." He said, squeezing their intertwined hands.

"You don't have to hold my hand. I won't run after Souda." Nagito pointed out, feeling guilty about forcing Hajime to stay so close to him. He probably smelled too. 

Hajime gave their intertwined hands an amused look. "What do you think this is? Me keeping you on some kind of leash?" He laughed.   
"Stop overthinking so much, Nagito. I just like holding your hand."

"You don't have to lie to please me. You know I'm happy just you let me be near you to admire you," he said and looked up at Hajime.

"I'm not lying, Nagito. We've been over this. This-" He swung their hands back and forth, "-Is just me appreciating my smart, beautiful and kind boyfriend. Can I please do that in peace?" He laughed at Nagito's dumbfounded expression as they ascended the stairs.

"Sorry..." He apologized and shut up, following Hajime obediently.

Hajime considered telling him not to apologize, but honestly, it would probably only earn him another apology so he refrained.   
Instead, he threw open the pantry, surveying the ingredients and looking for something without rice they could whip up quickly.  
"Well, there are some noodles here, so maybe We could make some kind of wok?" He suggested, taking out a pack. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds good..." Nagito said, letting go of Hajime's hand and turning to locate more ingredients.

Hajime managed to dig out a recipe book and consulted it, gathering the ingredients by the stove. "Hey Nagito, do you like aubergine?" He asked, flipping through the book. He wasn't particularly fond of it himself, so decided to only add it in if Nagito wanted to.

"If you want it then yes," he said and found the fish sauce- the secret ingredient to any Japanese cooking.

Hajime dejectedly put the aubergine aside into a makeshift "maybe" pile. He really wished there was some way of getting Nagito to understand that he just wanted him to speak his mind, but he supposed it would be unfair to expect the change to happen all at once. Maybe he needed to get Nagito more comfortable, the way he'd done back in their cabin.   
For now, though, he focused on the food.   
"I'll start cutting the ingredients if you want to do the cooking in the pan?" He suggested as Nagito was a much better cook than himself.

"As you wish, although I don't get why you'd want a screw up like me even coming near your food," he said quietly and located the cooking oil.

Hajime turned around, having had quite enough of Nagito's self-deprecation. He somehow needed to get Nagito more comfortable outside their cabin, as that seemed to be a correlating factor.  
"Nagito, you're doing it again. We both know you're a better cook than me, so why are you acting like this?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you so uncomfortable. Honestly, what am I to do with myself, all I do is just give you a bad time," he said to himself and turned on the gas stove.

Hajime put down the knife, walking over to where Nagito was standing and shutting off the stove. He grabbed both Nagito's hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs over them and steeled himself.

"Nagito. Come on, what's wrong? Did I do something? Do you not feel safe? Why are you falling back on the self-deprecation? I thought we agreed you'd try to stop, right?"   
When he started talking, the questions just piled up and Hajime had to make himself shut up, lest he'd surely overwhelm Nagito.

Nagito's throat closed up. He'd done it now. He'd just made everything worse than it already was. How could such a filthy piece of worthless life even think he'd be on the level to even communicate with an ultimate? What gave Hajime the right to say these things to someone as pointless as himself, what has him the right to spend his affections on someone as vile as Nagito? When there were so many more much more worthy.  
"What gave you the right -"

Hajime swore under his breath as Nagito's eyes became unfocused. He'd pushed too hard. He moved his grip from Nagito's hands to around his upper arms, aiming to steady him. Then Nagito spoke, and Hajime almost recoiled in confusion. "What? The right to what?"

"You just - casually waste your affections and time on me - you!" he exclaimed, getting angry, mostly at himself as his inner monologue continued.

"Ah." Hajime nodded. "Nagito, how about we sit down for this, okay?" He suggested gently, seeing Nagito become more unhinged. Hajime was hoping he could coax whatever was really wrong out of him as soon as possible, he really hated it when Nagito talked about that. Hearing his affections become so misconstrued stung, even if he knew Nagito didn't mean any harm.

"Listen," He began, rubbing his hands up and down Nagito's arms gently, as he started to back them both toward the seating area.  
"I'm not wasting anything on anyone, Nagito. Especially not on you. I love you. Frankly, I couldn't stop if I wanted to, which I don't. I didn't choose this, just like you didn't choose your feelings for me. So it's all okay. Because I love you more than anything." Nagito's back bumped against a table, and Hajime's weird speech came to a halt. He kept his grip around Nagito's forearms, wanting to pull him closer but not to push him.

I made him like this, Nagito thought bitterly.  
It's all my fault. I'm the one responsible for Hajime's feelings. I soiled him with smearing my presence all over him. I should've died instead of Byakuya.

"I should've died."

A cold chill settled over Hajime's body, leaving his heart pounding and his breath short. Cold, icy panic coiled in his gut, and he was dimly aware he tightened his grip around Nagito's arms.

"Don't say that! You can't! Nagito, you promised you would try to stop with the-" His mouth felt dry and Hajime found himself unable to even say it.   
"Remember? After we got the motives? You- you said you'd stop. That you wouldn't try again. So please- you can't say that." His voice shook, flaring up the panic because Hajime didn't know how Nagito would react if he burst into tears, something that didn't seem wholly unlikely.

 

Ah. Look at him. Look what you did. You really hurt everything important to you.

Nagito just looked, mildly horrified at Hajime as the other looked like he'd cry any second.

Hajime tried to collect himself, swallowing down the panic. He knew he needed to keep a clear head. "Nagito. Why did you say that? Please, answer me. You promised me you wouldn't, right? Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Right. I'm sorry Hajime," he said with a deep breath. He had to compensate for the damage he'd caused.

Hajime's stomach sank. "No- no this is not what I wanted. Nagito we need to talk about this. You're not going to just brush this off, it's not healthy. Now tell me why you said that. Why did you say you should have..." He swallowed. "Why did you say you should have died, Nagito?"

"I- because I should have. I've done something despicable as seduce you into feeling pity for me. I- if I had died I wouldn't have done something so vile." he said, resigning.

Hajime got a bitter taste in his mouth. "Is... Is this about what Souda said? About, you somehow *manipulating* me into liking you? Because I thought we both agreed that was ridiculous, and at this point, I'm willing to drag him here so he can admit he was wrong." Hajime could tell he wasn't convincing, but this was so far out of his area of expertise it was almost laughable.

"Right. Souda saw through me from the very start. He should've stopped me, he should've done something about it." he laughed for himself

"No. Souda was acting like a homophobic asshole, and he should have apologized for that. Don't you dare try to twist his words into somehow strengthening your argument." Hajime said. "Look, Nagito. You think I'd be better off without you, right?"

"Of course, you all would be!" Nagito said confidently.

"Nagito. I need you to listen to me. The first night we came here, I was terrified. I cried myself to sleep because I was so scared. When Byakuya died... I didn't even think about investigating. I just wanted to give up right there. The only reason I even made it to the trial, let alone why we managed to survive, it's thanks to you." Hajime pressed himself a bit closer, the warmth of Nagito's chest against his own soothing him even under the circumstances.  
" Same with the second trial. If you hadn't been there I would have probably passed out right there in the pharmacy. We might never have solved that case either, and everyone would have died. You saved us there too. And- you practically solved the entire third trial, you didn't need anyone's help for that. It was even your idea that dismantled the fourth motive! Do you see how much you've helped us- helped me? None of us would even be here if it weren't for you, do you see that? "

"You would. You're all ultimates, you would've made it without me, I was just there to observe your beautiful hope, it's so gorgeous-" he said, infatuated

The cloying sweetness of the words made Hajime's stomach churn.   
"In any case, you saved me. Maybe it's true that the others would have been fine, but I would have been so lost without you. So don't say that you haven't done anything. This... You're the only good thing that came from this awful situation. Nagito, won't you at least try and see it from my perspective? "

"I can't, Hajime, there is no way I could ever get into your beautiful mind." Nagito shook his head.

"This is really not about that," Hajime said.   
"I just want you to try to understand how I feel. Hearing you say terrible things like, like that I'd be better off if you died, really hurts. Imagine if I'd said the same thing to you. How would that feel, do you think?"

"I'd get angry, obviously. For you to- Against an ultimate, Unfathomable. I can't even begin to imagine it, you may not know what your talent is but I'm certain that it's something amazing!" he swooned.

"And I'm not allowed to feel the same way? That's hypocritical, Nagito." Hajime pointed out. "You may not have a talent, but the way I am now I might as well not have one either. It doesn't make us any less of human beings."

"In comparison to the people around us we are," he said softly, not liking the direction the conversation had taken. Imagining Hajime in danger did...unpleasant things to his heart.  
"But you're right, Hajime. I don't understand but I trust you."

"Come on, Nagito don't do that," Hajime said immediately. "Don't just brush it off, it's not healthy. I'm not very hungry, we can keep talking. Can you promise me you won't... You won't hurt yourself, or worse. Please. At least promise to try."

It bore against everything he stood for but he had to. "Yes, Hajime, I promise to try. I-" he couldn't do it. He couldn't make a promise he couldn't keep. Not to Hajime.

Hajime's face fell. "You can't, can you?" He bit his lip.  
"Okay. We can work on that. I guess I just- I'll worry about you. But you probably already knew that. So don't do anything stupid, okay?" At some point during their argument, Hajime's grip had shifted to around Nagito's shoulders.   
"Is it okay if I hug you?" He asked now, needing the reassurance.

Nagito gave him a nod. "You can do whatever you want to me Hajime, I thought you knew this," he said, reason re-emerging back into his head. It took a quick vacation there and then.

Hajime laughed tiredly but pressed himself close to Nagito anyway.  
"Yeah. We'll work on that too. Okay."   
His shoulders shook and really, he was feeling so emotionally drained he just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep or sob. He didn't though, merely burying his head in Nagito's shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry, Hajime?" he said carefully laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be," Hajime muttered. "It's not your fault."

They stayed like that for a while, Hajime keeping his head buried in the crook of Nagito's neck. Eventually, after a lot of twisting and analyzing the conversation, he felt a bit better and lifted his head.  
"Sorry, Nagito." He said, smiling reassuringly. "How about we continue on that work now?"

"Yeah. You'll have to taste it out for me though so it's how you like it," he said, letting go of Hajime and turned on the stove again.

Hajime nodded, turning back to chopping his vegetables. The silence quickly became deafening, and Hajime scrambled to find something to clear the air.  
"How--uh, how is the book you borrowed?" He asked lamely, cringing at his uncertain tone. Way to instill confidence there, idiot.

"It's good. I like the characters, even if I can't personally relate." Nagito said blandly.

"Right. Yeah- me too. I mean, the one I'm reading." A+ conversation making, Hajime. Way to go.  
"I've finished chopping the peppers. I'll push it over here and you can add it when you think it's ready." He announced instead, taking a piece of pepper and eating it before pushing the rest onto a plate by the stove.

Nagito gave a small nod, taking off the now boiled noodles from the stove to pour out the water and poured the noodles into the frying pan with some soy sauce and fish sauce.

"I wonder what happened between Souda and Gundham," Hajime said, trying to keep some casual conversation going. "I don't think I've seen them together without it somehow devolving into an argument before, particularly Souda."

"Homosexuality," Nagito whispered, almost drowned out completely by a hiss when he added more soy sauce.

Hajime snorted. "You really think so? I mean, I can barely imagine it. I mean, this is Souda and Gundham. Mister Wants-to-screw-a-princess and Gundham-aka-devil-incarnate-bow-before-me."

"Isn't Gundham a prince though if he's the devil incarnate?" he asked. And if Souda blows Gundham he's technically bowing before him." Nagito pointed out amused.

Hajime swatted at him. "Yeah that was a mental image I did NOT need right now, thank you." He dumped the newly chopped leek next to the peppers.   
"And- is Gundham even gay in the first place? I mean, I don't think I've seen him care about anyone other than his devas, let alone romantically."

"Who knows. Maybe he's a furry." Nagito suggested and dumped the peppers and onions into the wok.

This time, Hajime couldn't stop himself from uttering a shocked laugh. "You-you, W-whatever happened to respect Ultimates?" He laughed, gripping onto the counter with one hand as his shoulders shook.

"Ah, no. I'm saying all of this with the utmost respect. I'd never say something to demean an Ultimate, especially not their talent. They're humanity's hope you know?" he said in admiration.

"You're calling Gundham a furry with the Utmost Respect?" Hajime asked dubiously. "Yeah. Yeah, sure you are."

"Well, what if he is? It would be rude to call him something else then." Nagito defended himself.

Hajime shook his head. "If he were it would break Sonia's heart." He said somberly. "She's Really taken by his "demon lord" charm, I guess."

"Are you insinuating that he's an actual demon lord?" Nagito asked and added more veggies to the mix.

Hajime gave him a long look. "Yes. Actually, I have proof that Gundham is actually a bloodsucking demon who feasts on innocence and creates pentagrams in his backyard." He said, as deadpan as possible.

"You'll have to warn Souda. Unless he's into that I guess." Nagito shrugged.

Hajime made a face. "Oh god. The list of mental images I did NOT need today is growing. Jesus Christ."

"At least there have been no new killings," Nagito said finishing up the noodle wok.

Hajime nodded. "Yeah." He reached in front of Nagito, taking the cutting board and throwing it into the sink. "We even beat that last motive together. Like hell are more people going to be killed!"

"I'm sure Monokuma will find a way," Nagito said and served the wok for two.

"Don't say that." Hajime admonished. "Whatever happened to keeping up hope?" He gathered plates and chopsticks for the two of them, setting the table while Nagito placed the food. "It looks delicious." He said as he sat down.

"I hope you find it to your liking, Hajime," he said with a sugary sweet smile. "I did make it just for you."

Hajime returned the smile fondly. "Yeah yeah." He stuck his chopsticks in experimentally, twirling the noodles around them. "Okay then, here goes." He said, before taking the first bite. The wok was salty and spicy, but not overly so and the vegetables provided a good respite from the harsh spice.  
"It's really good, Nagito. Wow." Hajime said, rendering his verdict.

"There should be more acidity." he frowned but ate nonetheless.

"Shush. It's good." Hajime said decisively, taking a big bite for emphasis. The hot food very nearly burned his throat, and he coughed a bit as he swallowed.   
"Shit- Good, but hot."He said by way of explanation, draining a glass of cold water.

"I should've let it cool a bit before," Nagito muttered to himself.  
And then his head began to derail quietly once again.

Hajime reached out with his free hand, grasping Nagito's across the table. "You shouldn't have done anything. It's really good, Nagito." He assured. "Come on, have some." He twirled some noodles onto his chopsticks and held them up in front of Nagito's face.

"Did you not like it?" Nagito asked as Hajime offered his noodles. He had his own, why would he need to take Hajime's unless it really wasn't a good meal.

Hajime shook his head. "No, I loved it. But you-" He gestured to Nagito with his chopsticks, "You're thinking too much. I see it. So stop it and eat instead, it's good food."

Nagito gave a curt nod and obeyed, eating his food, getting full after the half but forcing himself to continue even though he was nauseous.

Hajime gathered the plates when both were done, feeling happy that Nagito had, for once, eat a reasonable amount. "So, did you enjoy it?" He laughed. "We should cook more often, your food is much better than Monokuma's."

Nagito nodded, scared to vomit if he opened his mouth, and wobbled up.

Hajime caught him. "Hey, you okay Nagito? You look pale."

Nagito nodded again. "I'm okay, don't worry," he promised. "I'll take the dishes."

"You... Don't want me to help?" Hajime asked a bit saddened. "Come on Nagito, we had fun cooking together right? Let me help with the dishes too."

"You don't have to deal with something as filthy as that for me Hajime," Komaeda said, lump in his throat. "I want to be at least a little useful to you."

"This again?" Hajime grumbled discontentedly but sat back down.  
"Fine. If you don't want me to help I want, but don't say it's to be useful or something stupid like that. I don't need you to be useful, Nagito. I just need you to be here, with me. That's what it means to be boyfriends, you know?" Hajime smiled wistfully, body aching to get up and give Nagito a kiss, but he was too afraid of the other shutting him out like before.

Nagito gave a small nod before shying away into the kitchen to finish the dishes and soon reemerged, surprised to find Hajime there. "Hajime-san, you really didn't have to wait for me!" he exclaimed, drying his wet hands on his pants. 

Hajime gave him a weird look. "Nagito, are you sure you're okay? What's with the -san? You never did that, even when we barely knew each other." He got up, crossing the distance between them but staying far enough from Nagito as to hopefully not startle him.   
"Did something happen that I'm not aware of, Nagito? Did Souda say something or monokuma? Come on, you can tell me, I promise I'll do everything I can to help."

"No, I just don't think you should waste your time on me." he said with an innocent smile.   
"Let's go meet up with Akane, that's what you wanted earlier right?" 

"Akane can wait." Hajime said firmly. "I need to know why you're suddenly acting like...like after the first trial. Is it something that I did? If so, please tell me. I want to know." 

Nagito just shook his head. He didn't know himself, it just felt like that was what he should do- he shouldn't be troubling Hajime, what was he even doing, worrying him like that. He was a failure of a boyfriend, he should've done his best to keep him happy no matter what, yet here he was. 

Hajime caught the flicker of self-deprecation and hate in Nagito's eyes as clearly as if a storm passed over his expression. It made his chest hurt with regret for being so harsh. "Okay." He said simply, mind racing as he searched for a way to rectify the situation.   
"I'm not mad at you Nagito, I promise. It's okay if you're just having a bad day or something. But- I was wondering if I could ask you to do something for me? Nothing major just- can you promise me?"

"Anything Hajime, I told you, I'll do anything for you!" he exclaimed, jerking out of his spiral.

"Okay." Hajime smiled.  
"Can you promise to remember it when I say you're important to me. Even if you feel like you're worthless, I want you to remember that you've saved me, both literally and figuratively. I know you don't think so, but I do, and that should count for something, right?"  
He laughed awkwardly, the embarrassment of the situation suddenly dawning. Here was Hajime, practically baring his heart to Nagito, probably embarrassing him to death.

Nagito did his absolute best to wrap his head around what Hajime had told him. He just couldn't accept it- but he had to. He'd do anything for Hajime and to keep him happy but he couldn't lie to him so he did his best to force himself to accept it, mentally banging his head against a cement wall to get it to open and work properly.   
"Of-of course Hajime." he struggled out. He tried, he really did.

Hajime gave a small smile. "Don't hurt yourself, Nagito. Just- at least try, okay? It would make me so incredibly happy if you did." He flushed. "Anyway. If you finished the dishes, let's go. No point in staying here, righ?" 

"Right. No point in staying here." Nagito nodded quietly in agreement, and so they set off.


	24. Quick lil pop in from the authors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a lil author's note!

We're not dead and neither is this story!  
We've had a lot of stuff to do in school but things are starting to clear up on our schedule now, so expect an update pretty soon!


	25. Cheap chips contain palm oil, not animal fats! Equally bad, if not worse, but vegan!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're back bitches!

Meanwhile back in Gundham's cottage Souda was feeling guilty and annoyed as ever as he sat on Gundham's bed, feeding Jum-P sunflower seeds. 

"Why does Hinata have to be with a lunatic like Komaeda? Can't he see that he's endangering himself and everyone else?"

Gundham shrugged.  
"The will of Cupid is a mysterious one indeed. I've always kept...distance, between myself and that particular deity for that very reason. I do not claim to know what has possessed Hinata, but I believe you shouldn't dwell on it. If his pact with Komaeda ends poorly, Hinata will know he made a mistake and he will walk through the fires of hell to repent his sins." 

Sonia chuckled from her place, crosslegged on Gundam's bed.  
"I think we should just let them be happy. It's plain to see that they're in love- I mean Komaeda hasn't smiled this much ever, and Hinata seems much calmer than when we first arrived. Perhaps...we should allow Hinata to decide for himself who he dates?" She suggested, smiling serenely at Souda.

"But he's making a mistake! Shouldn't we, as his friends, tell him better? I- I don't think it'll end well... I don't want Komaeda to hurt him further." Souda protested.

"I don't believe he is though," Sonia argued. "I've spoken to both Komaeda-san and Hinata-san and they both seem happy. Truly. Don't you think you might be reading a bit too much into things? I believe every human deserves a second chance, after all. It would be unfair to judge Komaeda-san on one single action when he's attempting to better himself."

"How can we be so sure that he isn't like, trying to brainwash into his hope-obsessed scheme to kill us all?" Souda asked.

Gundham huffed.  
"Were that fiend to use some manner of black magic to control minds, I would surely sense it." Sonia gave him a fond look, before nodding in agreement.  
"We will have to trust that Hajime has the situation under control. You have offered to help, right? In this situation, there is not much else we can do."

"I guess... It's still not cool of him to just, go off and begin dating a lunatic. He didn't even say anything to me and I'm supposed to be his best bro..." Souda pouted.

Sonia leaned over and pat his shoulder.  
"If you are feeling out of the loop, then I believe you should apologize properly to Hinata-san and then let him know what you're feeling. I am certain he will understand and explain himself."

"I just don't want- yeah... I should apologize, shouldn't I?" he sighed, reaching out to pet Jum-P.  
The hamster keened under the attention and scuttled toward Souda, lying down in his lap and enjoying the petting. Gundham watched it with a soft smile.

"You should." Sonia agreed with a nod. "This evening, however, we have other things to attend to. Namely, we must put the Devas to bed, and then retire to our own abodes for the night."

She carefully lifted San-D in cupped hands, depositing the hamster in her Cage before reaching for the other ones.

Gundham would have helped, but he was lost in thought. It was true that he'd known that Souda and Sonia would go back, he'd just not thought about it that much.  
He hadn't thought of The Demon once while they had been spending time together, and the nap he'd shared with Sonia earlier had been the first time in days he'd fallen asleep without nightmares.  
He didn't want them to go.

He opened his mouth to say as much, but his throat closed up.  
"If I m-" was all he managed to say before he stopped, looking shyly down at the bed.

"Did you say something?" Souda asked, stopping in his tracks on his way to leave the cottage.

Sonia glanced over with a worried smile and Gundham lowered his eyes to the mattress where his hands were nervously fisting the mattress.  
"It is merely--Ever since our captor, the demonic beast, dug up the accursed skeletons from our pasts, I believe I have been cursed. Whether it be as an additional punishment from that fiend, or The Demon still having power over me, I am unsure. The result- however--is highly concerning. It has twisted my excursions to the dark realm, making them wrought with pain, fear, and chaos-" Gundham stopped, glancing up at his audience.  
Sonia looked pitying, while Souda mostly looked confused. Both of them were listening intently though. He couldn't keep from smiling a bit. 

"I have tried many times to exorcise the curse, but not even the combined forces of my magic and my four Dark Devas of Destruction is enough. However."  
He swallowed, bracing himself for rejection.  
"I believe, the presence of the two of you may well be the curse's undoing. Based on the type of magic, I believe both of your auras of calm, compassion and sweetness will banish it once and for all. I suppose I'm asking--would you two like to join my excursion this evening and test the hypothesis?"

"You're going out tonight?" Souda asked, incredibly confused, as well as flustered to the praise of his aura.

"N-no that's not-" Gundham began uncertainly.  
Sonia gave him a smile, before turning to Souda and poking him in the chest to get his attention.

"I believe--Souda- that Gundham is asking us to keep him company over the night to ward off night terrors."

Gundham nodded mutedly, having pulled up his knees to his chest and hiding his bright red face.

"My answer- naturally- is positive. We cannot have The Overlord of Ice be any less than top shape, correct? We need you to protect our universe."

Of course he meant sleeping. Why would he go out after bedtime?, Souda thought. They were in a killing game after all.  
"I don't mind staying." Souda shrugged, not thinking that much about it.

Gundham let out a confused sound.  
"B-but surely- surely you won't want to be around someone like me-" He got up from the bed, looking at Souda as if he'd gone mad.

"Why not? If you're having nightmares and it helps to have us around then why not? Besides, it's safer, in case someone tries to kill us we're able to fend for ourselves better."

"Yes but I'm-" Gundham bit his lip, deciding not to argue anymore. If Souda wanted to, then there was no reason not to agree.  
Instead, he tried to regain his composure, burying his hands in the pockets of his jacket and turning on the spot.  
"Heh- It's just like I had anticipated," He said, voice darker and theatrical. He turned, striking a confident pose and smirking.  
He wasn't the uncertain, pathetic, blushing Gundham Tanaka anymore. He was the hardened, unapologetic Overlord of Ice.  
"Very well. I applaud both of you for your bravery, my loyal subjugates. Let us do our best to break this malevolent curse."

Souda just looked over to Sonia in confusion. Why did Gundham just, swap? Whatever, unimportant. "Then I'll go get my toothbrush and change into pajamas."

"Wait a moment-" Gundham said, heart beating loudly in his chest.  
"Dark Lady, Wielder of automatons." He breathed in deeply, trying to settle the paralyzing nervousness permeating his chest and stomach.

Then slowly, hesitantly, Gundham extended both of his arms in the direction of his two companions. He let them rest in the air, palms turned up, and stubbornly stared down at his feet. He was aware his face was burning red once again.  
"I have... Reason to believe that your auras are powerful enough to protect you from the poison." He said shakily.

Hug? Did he want a hug? Souda looked lost for a moment but walked over to Gundham either way and crouched down, waiting for Sonia to take the lead. She was much better at understanding Gundham. Maybe it had to do with how knowledgeable she was in languages.

Sonia came to a similar conclusion, though she decided to take it slowly.  
"Then... Does this mean you are alright with me-" She hovered her own palm over Gundham's outstretched one, and he nodded carefully.  
"I have deemed it unlikely that you will be affected." He affirmed, glancing up.

Sonia was beaming at him, while Souda gave him a slightly confused yet fond smile, having mirrored Sonia is holding out his hand.

Gundham realized that he would have to take the first step and so he, with a herculean effort, lifted his palms the necessary centimeters until they were touching.  
The sensation of warmth against his palms was so foreign, he very nearly pulled away, but it felt far to good for that.  
"F-fu-haha-" He laughed through his thick throat. "I- my calculations were indeed--ahem- indeed correct. I have found the- the singularity!"  
There was no force in the exclamation, barely even over a whisper. Still, the over the top delivery gave Gundham some courage.

Souda braided their fingers together.  
"I guess you have. That's good. Maybe it's because you've let us get gradually exposed to your powers through your devas." he said, making an attempt at Gundham speech.

Gundham couldn't help a fond smile at that, moved by Souda's attempt at mimicking him. It felt... Alarmingly good to hold both his and Sonia's hands, he realized.  
Souda's palm was rough and firm against his own, reminding him of the skin of an orca or something similar.  
Sonia's, on the other hand, was softer, daintier. Sort of like the skin of his Devas, or a baby chick.  
Both sensations were equally enjoyable, and Gundham found himself regretting that he hadn't done this before.

"So yeah. I'll just go get my toothbrush and PJ's and then we can have a cool slumber party." Souda said after a while of hand-holding.

Gundham blinked as if released from a trance.  
"A-ah. Yes. Of course."  
He hesitantly released Souda's and Sonia's hands, immediately missing the contact.  
He clasped his hands instead, laying them in his lap and staring down at the ground.

Sonia leaned over, whispering a comforting, "I'm so proud of you. We'll be right back."

Souda was the first to return, pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste and a bag of chips in hand.  
"Hey." 

Gundham had after Souda and Sonia left the room, washed his face and gotten dressed in his pajamas and was currently sitting by the four dark devas' Cage, petting Maga-Z's golden fur.  
"Greetings." He mumbled as Souda entered, standing and letting the hamster back in his cage.

"You look different without makeup," Souda commented and took a seat by his side. 

"Ah. Indeed I... Cleansed myself of it a little while ago." Gundham said, feeling a bit self conscious.  
He was starting to wonder if this had been such a good idea.

His makeup, as well as his clothes, had been integral parts of his persona. Being seen without them, dressed in a plain black shirt and shorts and without so much as foundation or hair gel, made him worry.

"You look cute though, don't worry about it," Souda said with a grin.  
"Like a really chill dude."

Gundham gave him an uncertain smile.  
"I am... Pleased you think so. It is not often I let a mortal gaze upon my unwarded form. It is not something I am accustomed to, is all."

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I brought chips?" he said, holding out the bag. 

"Do not fret. I have endured far worse trials." Gundham answered automatically.  
"Your offering is very appreciated, however." He took the bag, inspecting it and making sure it was vegan- which it naturally was.

"So now I guess we just wait for Sonia?" he said, flicking his feet.

"Indeed," Gundham said, shuffling awkwardly. He was terrible at interacting with humans. Not to mention that Souda probably was already wary of him since his confession about liking both genders.  
"Did- uhm- did you come to a conclusion about what to say to Hinata?" He asked after a moment of tense silence, aiming to break it any way he could.

"No, not really." Souda shrugged. "It's just, I don't mind if he likes guys, I guess. I just wish he'd like better guys."

"I see," Gundham said with a nod. "While I cannot say I am fond of Komaeda either, I believe that is the appropriate course of action. He hasn't done anything more despicable since he started seeing Hajime, in any case. Maybe Hajime's good aura is canceling out Komaeda's chaotic urges."

Souda snickered. "Chaotic urges. That's a pretty good way to describe him."

Gundham nodded sagely. "Komaeda Nagito is a very chaotic being." He said. "I sense strong darkness from him, and not just inner either. He has clearly been through some pretty terrible trials in his own right. The dark energy cannot be channeled in a normal fashion, and therefore it's lashing out in the form of chaos. I believe Hinata is helping Komaeda control these very symptoms." 

"Isn't there a pretty big risk that he'll lash out at Hinata then?" Souda asked concerned.

"Perhaps." Gundham agreed.  
"Or perhaps the bond they share is too powerful to break by such incidents. Hinata and Komaeda both seem pretty smitten with each other, do they not?"

"They do. I just hope he isn't manipulating him." Souda sighed and fell back on Gundham's bed.

Gundham took a seat by him, smiling to himself.  
"I understand your worrying. You are an admirable person and a very good friend, Souda. I am certain this will resolve itself once you talk it over with Hinata."

Souda hummed non commitedly, crossing his arms beneath his head. A clear message that he wanted to drop the conversation.  
Even Gundham wasn't oblivious enough to miss that.

He kind of wanted to lie down beside him, as a matter of fact. Souda's relaxed expression made Gundham's plain bed look much more comfortable than it actually was.  
Still...he was worried.  
"I- if you wouldn't mind, I need to clarify something." He began slowly, glancing down at Souda. This might ruin all chances of Gundham ever keeping him as a friend, but the alternative was worse. If Souda remembered it some other time, the consequences could be far more disastrous than Gundham losing a friend. Besides, it was better to get it over with before Sonia got there, in any case.  
"You expressed some... disdain at my preferences in paramour when we talked earlier." He said slowly.  
"Are you really alright with staying here after that? I would not blame you if you decide not to. I understand I am the one in the wrong for not saying it earlier."

"What? What... What is a paramour?" Souda asked.

Gundham's heart skipped a beat and he took a deep breath before continuing.  
"I believe you mortals would refer to it as "lover" or "partner." Does that clear up your confusion?"  
He suddenly felt drained, not even having the energy to speak in metaphors like usual.

"Oh. Yeah, I don't mind... All of the thing I said to Hinata we're really dumb and stupid of me to say, I didn't even mean them." Souda confessed. "I'm always too dumb to think before I act. And I don't think it's wrong, or I know it's not wrong... It's just, yeah... My dad was very loud with what he thought... I guess some of it rubbed off on me." 

Gundham turned to him with surprise.  
"Ah. I see. I am... Pleased to hear it."  
That was the understatement of the century. Gundham felt as if a weight the size of Mount Everest had been lifted from his shoulders.

"The When touseling with malevolent forces, it is inevitable that you will be blackened yourself." He leaned back, lying down beside Souda and crossed his arms over his chest.  
"You shouldn't call yourself dumb, over that."'

"Well, I kinda am. But it's okay. I'm good at other things." Souda said and fiddled with his toothbrush.

Gundham furrowed his brow.  
"Souda, you bear the title of Ultimate Mechanic. I've seen what wonders you can accomplish with little more than scrap Metal."  
He gestured to the Gundam toy Souda had crafted for him, lying on the bedside table by the Devas' cage.  
"You are a highly intelligent individual. No ordinary person could accomplish such things."

"Yeah, I'm good at fancy metal DIY's but that's about it." he shrugged and sat up. "It's no biggie though."

"And planning intricate gadgets, and performing maintenance, and conversing with other mortals-" Gundham filled in.  
"I've seen the ease with which you carry yourself and charm the people around you. It is a very enviable trait."

"I guess. When do you think Sonia will show?" 

"I do not know. It should not be long, however." Gundham said with a shrug.  
"As lovely as the Dark Lady is, she has a penchant for becoming overexcited and distracted."

"She really does." Souda chuckled. "Hey, Gundham?"

"Hm?" Gundham turned his head on the bed. "Speak your mind, mortal."

"If you and Sonia start dating, I won't mind. Just please take good care of her for me?" Souda asked of him.

Oh. Gundham hadn't expected that. Now- how to get out of this situation without accidently admitting that he had a crush on Souda- not Sonia. At least he thought so.

"Oh." He said dumly. "I- thank you. Likewise--I suppose. I know you are fond of her. She enjoys your company as well, even if she doesn't always let on."  
"If it comes to pass, however, I swear on my name that I shall treasure her." He raised his right hand in the air, making a series of motions toward the roof above.  
"The charm is made. Shall I ever break that promise, I will disintegrate into nothing, despite my immortality."

"Thanks man. She's really fond of you, you know? I'd hate it if her heart was broken." he said with a small, solemn smile.

 

"I- Do believe you may be mistaken there." Gundham said thoughtfully.  
"While it's true that I value and treasure the Dark Lady's presence highly, I do not believe she carries any romantic sentiments toward me."

 

"Oh.. Well, either way, please don't break her heart," Souda asked of him. "That's all..."

"Didn't I tell you?" Gundham said briskly. "I would rather disintegrate. I did swear on my name after all. Names are powerful."  
"And," He continued, much more softly. "I would not break a vow to a trusted friend."

"You think that highly of me? Even after everything I said?" Souda asked.

Gundham shrugged. "You saw the error of your ways, explained yourself and apologized. It is beneath one such as myself to continue to hold a grudge after that."  
Souda didn't look convinced, and Gundham would have gone on but was interrupted by a knock on the door.  
"Excuse me?" Sonia's dulcet voice interrupted the conversation as she slowly opened the door, peeking inside dressed in a gray, long-sleeved pajamas. Her shirt had the movie poster for "Friday the 13th" pasted on the front.  
She too had washed off her makeup, and her long blonde hair was braided into two long braids which hung on either side of her head.  
"I must apologize. I was asking Nanami-san for advice on what to do at a typical sleepover as this is the first time I've ever attended one. I'm afraid I got a bit distracted."

"What did you learn?" Souda asked brightly and got up from the bed.

"Well... I learned that it's typical to watch scary movies, but as we do not have any here at the Island, that won't be possible."  
She walked toward the bed, sitting down on the edge on Gundham's free side.  
"I also learned that telling ghost stories or embarrassing events is common, as is playing truth or dare. Apparently, we shouldn't do the ghost story thing as it's way too 'Corpse party' though, Sonia recanted.  
"Oh- and it's common to talk about boys, apparently."  
She gave Gundham a meaningful look, and he glared back up at her. Vile woman. He'd told her about his crush in good faith!

"Well, I brought snacks. I double checked that they're vegan too," he said. "Dunno why there'd be any animal products in chips, but hey, better safe than sorry, right?"

"Oh! How lovely." Sonia said with excitement.  
"These are chips, then? I must confess, I've never had the pleasure to try them before. There was no equivalent back in Novoselic."  
She pulled her feet up, sitting cross-legged on the bed and studying the other two.  
"So- what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I wonder if I can scavenge out a TV and a DVD-player from Electric Avenue if we're doing this again. There's bound to be something, no?" he suggested.

"That would be amazing." Sonia agreed.  
Gundham pushed himself up onto his elbows and gave Souda a smirk.  
"You are proving my earlier point." He reminded him, gleefully.  
"Only someone very intelligent could manage what you're proposing."

"Not really,.." He murmured, happy from the praise either way. "So what do you wanna do?"

Sonia looked at the two guys. It was so obvious that Souda was crushing on Gundham.  
Getting THAT happy from some praise, simply wasn't platonic.  
Suddenly, she had an idea. Gundham had already confessed that he liked Souda, and since that meant her own crush on him was unrequited, the next best thing she could do was get this obvious couple together.  
"Hmm... Well, I've never actually played truth or dare before." She confessed innocently.  
"Perhaps you could humor me? I see ut all the time on TV, but never in real life."

Truth or dare huh? Souda could work with that. Sonia liked Gundham. He'd rather see her be happy than get together with her. Maybe he could give up easier if she was taken too?  
"I'm in, it sounds fun! "

Gundham wasn't entirely certain what the game was, but Souda and Sonia seemed worked up so he decided to go along with it.  
"Heh. I'll indulge your mortal game." He said, fully sitting up and bringing his legs up on the bed.

"Do we take turns or should the asked ask?" Souda wondered

"Let's say the asked asks," Sonia said with a shrug. "We're only three people, after all, so nobody will get left behind."  
She shifted on the bed until she was facing both Souda and Gundham, the three of them sitting in a circle.  
"Alright. I'll start." She suggested brightly. "Hmm... Souda, truth or dare?"

"Let's start light with a truth- wait, we need a punishment. If you don't wanna do it you can take the punishment instead." Souda remembered.

"Oh, a punishment! How exciting," Sonia cheered, pumping her fist in the air.  
"Do you have any suggestions, Souda?"

"Well, this is usually a drinking game, but we're not going to do that. Does the princess have any suggestions? Preferably not torture." Souda asked. He wasn't very creative when it came to punishment.

 

Sonia thought about it, humming quietly to herself.  
"I... Am unsure." She said, thinking hard but coming up with nothing.

"I can cast the fiend all the way down to the lowest depths of hell," Gundham suggested with a confident smile.

 

Sonia thought about it, humming quietly to herself.  
"I... Am unsure." She said, thinking hard but coming up with nothing.

"I can cast the fiend all the way down to the lowest depths of hell," Gundham suggested with a confident smile.

"Alright!" Sonia cheered.  
"Well, in any case, I challenge you Souda! Truth or dare?"  
She smiled mirthfully, barely able to contain her excitement. Truth or Dare was such an interesting game!

"Truth." he said confidently. Everything had already been revealed, so it didn't matter.

Sonia hummed to herself.  
"Tell us about one of your fears." She demanded, deciding to not jump straight into matchmaking territory just yet.

"Well, Komaeda, but that's already established. Big animals? Especially those with big sharp teeth and claws. And snakes." he said, leaving out the dark.

Sonia nodded sagely, while Gundham gave him a pitying look. He knew a lot of mortals harbored fears for familiars, particularly larger ones, but he had never understood them. It seemed a very lonely life, to only ever interract with humans.  
"Hmm. Okay. I suppose it is your turn now, right Souda?" Sonia continued on.

"Yeah, Gundham, truth or dare?" Souda asked, wanting to make sure to include him in the game too. 

"I shall also pick truth, I believe." Gundham answered with a shrug. "Though- I'd advise against asking questions about my demonic heritage. Despite your protected status, that information might very well curse your mortal soul."

"Yeah, no parent-talk. That'd just be a buzzkill." Souda agreed. "If you had to choose between going naked or having your thoughts appear in thought bubbles above your head for everyone to read, which would you choose?"

Sonia let out a startled laugh. "Oh- that's certainly...creative."  
Gundham stared pensively down at his lap, working through the intricasies of the unusual question.  
Suffer public embarrassment through having his physical form exposed, or his mental thought. He knew which one he preferred, of course.  
Still- since the question was so bizarre- why not use that to his advantage?  
He gave a low chuckle, running a hand through his dark hair.  
"For the betterment of the human race, I shall have to choose the second option. You see- my spiritual power is so great that anyone who dares gaze upon my completely bare form will surely disintegrate. For that reason- lest I want to doom the planet to an early Ragnarok, I shall have to make do. Besides, mortal minds are not complex enough to comprehend the thoughts of one such as I."

Souda was a bit taken aback by that but kept going. "I'd probably rather go naked. Now it's your turn, Gundham." 

"Ah." Gundham said. "Very well, Sonia. Truth or dare?" He hoped he could figure out a good thing to ask on the way.

"I'm going to pick dare!" she said brightly. "I don't want to risk having to expose any state secrets." 

"It's not like we'd ask about that kind of stuff..." Souda muttered, Gundham staying silent as he thought over the dare.  
What to ask? He'd surmised from Sonia's and Souda's truths that the question should be something embarrassing or invasive, but still fun. But he was the first person to have gotten to say a dare, so he didn't know what to do there. Moreover, he didn't want to say something that could make Sonia hurt herself or feel bad, but he also didn't want to be perceived as boring.  
He swallowed, suddenly aware that both Sonia and Souda were watching him intently, waiting for him to speak.  
"Uhm-" He began, deciding then and there to just go with whatever. "My dare shall be to... hold my hand again."  
He spoke before his brain had caught up, and when he realized what he'd said he immediately turned red. Wow. Could it have been more pathetic?

"Got it." she smiled brightly, reaching out her hand for Gundham to take. "That was easy," she said as her hand slid perfectly into Gundham's grip.  
"Gundham, truth or dare?" 

Gundham, still trying to get his quickened breathing under control, muttered a quick "Dare."  
He was still aghast at how the simple act of holding someone's hand could be so comforting and feel so good. 

"Okay... Let Souda do your makeup!" she chirped. 

Gundham paled. "I- very well," he said with a shrug, praying Souda wouldn't stab his eyes or anything with the eyeliner.

Souda meanwhile, gave Sonia a grin. "You're aware that I have absolutely no idea how makeup works, right princess?" 

"I had a hunch. You'll have to let Gundham instruct you" she smiled innocently. 

"Well, forgive me if I stab out your eye. I'll do my best to keep you intact." Souda said to Gundham. 

"Why do I fear this will end in tragedy." Gundham said as he jumped off the bed and let go of Sonia's hand.  
"Come on then. I do not have a lot of it, but I shall show you what products I have." Gundham said, waving at Souda to follow him to the bathroom.

Souda followed compliantly. This couldn't be much harder than airbrushing fine details on a machine. Boy was he wrong.

Gundham opened his bathroom cabinet, taking out the complete array of makeup he'd stored within.  
Most of it was from the market, and therefore bore Monokuma stickers and labels everywhere but the eye-liner had been there when he'd first moved in and was his own preferred brand.  
He also added a few other items to the pile, a large array of dark eyeshadows, ranging from crimson all the way down two black and three sticks of lipstick.  
He'd never actually used either one but had picked them up on a whim to experiment.  
"Here. Choose the ones you want to use, and we'll carry it back out to The Dark Lady." He told Souda.

"I have no idea what most of this is for." Souda did, handfallen. "Do you only have dark colors?"

"I... Suppose I might." Gundham admitted a bit sheepishly.  
"However, if I may assist you-" He started to pick up a stick of concealer, foundations as well as some other basic makeup tools.  
"Start with these. As for eyeshadow, eyeliner and... the other things... Just choose whatever you like the color of. They're all equal in quality."

"Nice. Then I wanna do red." he said, looking at the dark, sparkling colors.

Gundham shrugged. "Well, red is not my best colour, but it shall be adequate." He watched as Souda grabbed a red lipstick and some eyeshadow in a darker shade.  
"As for eyeliner, I only have black, so just take one."

"I think you'll look look good in red." he said promptly and picked the makeup needed and then they headed out and began with the dare, Sonia instructing him and Souda doing his best.  
Makeup was much harder than airbrushing fine details on machines.  
After a bit of struggle, it was Gundham's turn. The only thing that didn't look completely messed up was the lipstick.  
That actually looked decent.  
Souda wouldn't mind getting kissed all over with those lips- "Right, Gundham, your turn."

Gundham blinked furiously, Souda's applying of eyeliner having given him itchy eyes. He longed to reach up and smear it, but was aware that it would make the situation a lot worse.  
"Souda. Truth or dare." He said, trying to forget about the itchiness.

"Truth. You ok? Your eyes are starting to match your lips."

Gundham blinked. "Adequate. I shall have to wash my face soon, however. Your... Applying of the eyeliner left something to be desired."  
He thought for a moment, before asking his question.  
"Why did you decide to color your hair?"

"Ah, I guess because it looked cool. Kinda backfired though." he chuckled awkwardly. "Then I just decided to stick with it."

Gundham hummed, wanting to comment that it did, in fact, look cool. Of course, he was socially awkward Gundham Tanaka at present and therefore did no such thing.

Sonia wasted no time, however. "It does look cool. Very "punk", I believe the saying is." She smiled at Sonia, then turned to Gundham with a glint in her eye.  
"Don't you agree it's cool, Gundham? "

"It is indeed quite cool. You look like someone who would not back down even if all odds were against them." He said, stumbling in his own words.

Souda turned bright red.  
"Thanks guys," He mumbled, staring down at his lap.  
"A-anyway. Sonia- truth or dare."

"Then since you promised not to ask about Novoselic's state secrets, I shall choose truth," she said promptly.

Souda hummed to himself. "Oh yeah! I've got a great one!" He exclaimed.  
"Who was your first crush?"

"What a shameless question! But if you must know- Jeff the killer." she said, hiding her face in shame.  
"My tastes has since then been quite refined, so please do not judge me too harshly."

Gundham just looked confused, but Souda burst out laughing.  
"Oh man- really? Aint that some fictional serial killer?"

Sonia glared at him. "Y-yes. Reading through the story in which he is mentioned, I am loathe to say it's absolutely terrible. Bad writing, clichéd story and a ludicrous concept. When I was 9, I didn't have such an eye for that kind of stuff, I have to admit."

"That is gold worth." Souda snickered. "Jeff the killer is a character from a creepypasta, a kind of short horror story. He looks a bit like you with my makeup, but if the lipstick was smeared out and you had horrible hair and kind of like a swollen face, so that your awesome jawline didn't show." Souda explained to Gundham.

Gundham brought up a hand to his cheek, raising an eyebrow at Sonia, who glared back at him.  
"A-anyway." She stuttered. "Time for revenge. Souda- truth or dare."

"Alright." Sonia said with a malicious smile.  
"Who on this island- aside from myself--do you find the most attractive, Souda? Not merely in a physical sense, but taking their personality into account as well."

"Wha- Oh- uhm, alive?" he asked for clarification.

Sonia sighed sadly, the remainder of all the people who'd not survived up to this point flashing before here eyes.  
"Yes. Let's say students who are still alive."

"There's just Nanami and Akane... I don't know man, I guess Akane?" Souda said insecurely.

Sonia smiled gleefully, about to comment something about how Souda had been swayed by appearance when Gundham stood.  
"I shall return shortly. I need to rinse my face of this poison." He said curtly, gesturing to his puffy eyes.  
He stalked off toward the bathroom before either of the others could object.

"I guess I was worse at applying makeup than I thought," Souda said, watching Gundham bend over and wash off the makeup through the glass wall. 

Sonia hummed thoughtfully, looking after him with a worried expression on her face.  
"Yes, I suppose you might be." She said, far from unconvinced.

Meanwhile, Gundham furiously splashed his face with ice cold water, trying to regain his composure.  
He had Known that Souda wasn't into guys. He had Known he was attracted to Sonia. He had Known, but for some reason hearing him say it with such callousness still made his chest ache. He glared at himself in the mirror, red eyeshadow running down his cheeks. Souda had used way too much pigmented eyeshadow.  
'You're invincible!' he told himself sternly. 'You cannot lose composure over this'  
He rubbed his face with a paper towel until it was red, adamantly refusing to turn and glance at Souda and Sonia out in the bedroom.

"Is he okay?" Souda asked, leaning over to the side to see if he could catch a glimpse of Gundham's situation in the mirror. He just toppled over instead. 

Sonia bit her lip, debating over whether she should be honest or tell a white lie.  
In the end, she decided it wasn't her secret to tell.  
"I'm sure he's fine." She said with an easy smile. "Makeup can be a bit tricky to get off, is all. Especially when the one applying it used such vivid colors as you."

"I'm gonna go check how he's doing," he said and heaved him off the floor.  
"Hey, how's it going? Do you need me to go run for eyedrops?" he asked, poking his head into the bathroom.

Gundham jolted at the sound of Souda's voice, quickly wiping his face to the best of his ability before turning to him.  
"No, it's quite alright." He assured him. "I'm simply washing off the makeup. You used quite a lot, so it's not really coming off easily."  
He turned back to the mirror, hoping Souda accepted the explanation and left.

"Okay. Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

Gundham shook his head, a bit too quickly. "I assure you, I am fine. I'll be right out in a moment. You should ask Sonia the next question in the meantime."  
He rubbed his right eye furiously, avoiding eye contact with Souda in the mirror.

"Okay... We'll wait for you. I'm pretty proud of the lips though. They turned out pretty good, don't you think?" he asked brightly before returning to Sonia.  
"Should we wait?"

Gundham nodded gratefully, watching Souda leave the room. Then he went back to rubbing his face, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Sonia, meanwhile, was more than a bit concerned when Souda exited the room again. Had she screwed it all up? She should have known she couldn't match-make, hell she didn't even know how to make friends!  
Well, the least she could do now was distract Souda, she supposed.  
"Yes, let's wait. I am certain Gundham will be back in a moment. Did he tell you anything special?"

"Nope. Just to continue with the game. I think we should wait though." he shrugged and sat back against the bed.

"Very well." Sonia said. "Then we shall wait."  
She stared down at her lap for a moment, unsure of what to say next. It wasn't often that Sonia Nevermind- princess of the kingdom of Novoselic was at a loss for words, and she was beginning to realize she didn't enjoy it.

But then again...Sonia was hit with an idea. She might be able to make her mistake up to Gundham if she could get some information from Souda.  
She slid down the bed, joining Souda on the floor and turning to him.  
His face was obscured by bright pink locks, and his fingers were busy fiddling with two screws that Sonia guessed he had to have brought with him. He wasn't exactly building anything, but just the way his fingers were fiddling with the screws was endearing.  
"Have you thought any more about what Monokuma claims?" She asked carefully, as much for Gundham's sake as her own. She was a bit worried Souda was bottling things up.  
"In regards to your truths and lies, I mean."

"What? Yeah, I guess... I don't think I'm a murderer, I can't really stand the sight of blood, but then again Monokuma did take all of our memories... Maybe I'm so bad with blood because of some repressed memories?" He said and stopped fiddling with the screws and looked at his hands.  
"I mean, maybe I take after my dad more than I thought I did." 

Sonia gave him a worried look but decided not to ask about that particular issue unless Souda wanted to bring it up on his own.  
"So you're of the opinion that Monokuma was telling the truth when he announced the correct answer to your truth, then?" She asked, leaning her head on the back of the bed.

"I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, wouldn't I be- different? If I was bi? Wouldn't I know?" He asked and resumed fiddling with the screws.  
"I think there has been some kind of mistake."

Sonia shrugged. "From what I've come to understand.- it took quite a while for Hinata-san to realize he was gay. Perhaps it's something you've never considered and therefore not realized?" She suggested carefully, giving Souda an encouraging smile.  
"In any case- whether you like both genders or not doesn't have any bearing on your personality." She said sternly. "You're still Kazuichi Souda, Ultimate Mechanic, and a great and funny friend. Your sexuality doesn't impact anything other than who you'll fall in love with. Just look at Gundham- you didn't know he was bi until he told you, right? Or that Komaeda-san or Hinata-san were gay."

"No, but wouldn't I know?" he asked, distress obvious in his voice. "I really don't think I'm bi. I've never fallen for a guy, not really. Not like with girls, " he continued.  
"Not like you," he added extremely quietly. 

Sonia looked at him with surprise. "Really? Well, I suppose you know yourself the best. I just think it's something to keep in mind. And if you ever want to talk about it-" she winked at him, "You know where to find me! I've watched enough romantic J-dramas that I can give advice in any situation."  
They both laughed, but Sonia soon turned serious again.  
"Truly, Souda. If you are uncertain, or if you feel like it changes, then that's alright. You can come to talk to me any time, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed softly. "I will."

Sonia gave him a bright smile. "That's what friends are for, after all!"  
She looked up just in time to see Gundham, eyes red and dark hair dripping with water, but at least no longer rubbing his eyes or blinking like a crazy person.  
He stopped above the two of them, hands on his hips and smirked.  
"Was the floor that much more comfortable than my bed?" 

"Backrest." Souda said and patted the side of the bed.  
"Welcome back. You look emo, like you've been crying. Who's turn is it?" 

"Were it not for your abysmal skills in applying makeup, I assure you I would not look this way." Gundham scoffed, sitting down opposite Souda on the floor, legs crossed beneath him.  
"I believe, since you were asked by Sonia about your- ahem- type in females, it should be your turn, Souda. That is- unless you've continued on in my absence."

"Then Gundham, truth or dare?" Souda asked, putting aside his screws. 

"I shall agree to answer a question," Gundham said.

"When- How did you realize you were bi?" Souda asked. He could at least use this opportunity to learn something. And this seemed like something he could get through the thick skull of his. 

Gundham gave him a surprised look. "I suppose... when you explained to me when it was. I truly hadn't realized that not everyone felt the way I did in regards to romance. Though the first time I ever romantically fancied a male mortal was when my mortal vessel was 9 years old, and the first time I fancied a female was five years later, at 14. But- as I told you previously, I've always found both males and females to be equally attractive in an aesthetic sense."

"Oh, okay."  
He still didn't get it.  
"Then it's your turn to ask, isn't it?"

Gundham nodded, turning to Sonia since she hadn't been included in a while.  
"Dark Lady. May I ask you, truth or dare?" He made a genuine effort to act as normal as possible, not wanting Sonia to worry since she'd probably already figured out the real reason behind his earlier disappearing act.

"Then I will stick to my pattern and choose dare!" she said excitedly.

Gundham thought for a moment before his face split into a smile. He'd come up with a good dare, and one that would surely show Sonia he had completely forgotten about the earlier events.  
"Hmm. Do your best impersonation of someone at the island. I and The Wielder of Automatons shall attempt to guess who you are mimicking," He declared, leaning back.

Sonia thought long and hard, trying to decide on whom. She got up and brushed off her pajamas and took a fighting stance like she was in mortal kombat.

Souda grinned. "Now is she imitating Nekomaru or Akane?" He hummed as he thought.  
"Do somethin else," He said after a moment, "There are too many hotheaded fighters amoung our group."

Sonia rolled up her pyjama shirt a little bit and then resumed stance. 

Souda burst out laughing so hard he fell over. "Okay! Definitely Nekomaru! That's fantastic, princess!"  
Gundham chuckled to himself in agreement, as amused by Sonia's brilliant performance as by Souda's antics.

"Alright then, Souda, truth or dare?" She asked, pulling down her pyjamas and sat back down in Gundham's bed, crossing her legs. 

Souda grinned widely. "Well after that performance I'm feelin' bold. Let's go with dare!"

"Then I dare you to wax one of your legs!" she chirped.  
"Joke's on you, my legs are already smooth as a baby's bottom!" Souda said and rolled up pajama pant legs. 

Sonia laughed so hard she hiccupped. They were all getting a bit giddy as a matter of fact, courtesy of being up so late.  
"Well- in that case, I suppose you've already accomplished my dare, Souda. It's your turn, then." 

"Gundham, truth or dare." He said immediately.

 

Gundham felt that non-subtle pressure to also choose dare since both Souda and Sonia had. Well- how bad could it be he supposed. He'd survived the make-up assault, after all.  
"Dare. Do your worst- mortal." He challenged with a confident grin.

"Feel my smooth legs, Sonia, get in on this leg action as well," Souda said with a mischevious grin. 

Sonia blushed, giving Souda a look. "It would be improper for a princess," She said, unable to meet his eyes.

"What? You're going to dare me to wax my legs, but then when they're already smooth you're not gonna touch?" he snickered.

Sonia stuttered, definitely totally not feeling a bit endeared from the attention and the obvious infatuation in Souda's voice.  
No. She told herself sternly. She could not do this. If she were to admit she had anything less than completely platonic feelings for Gundham's crush, she'd be as pathetic as the characters from Jdramas or romcoms!  
And besides. She still totally, definitely liked Gundham. Yeah. Just a glance at him made her heart flutter in her chest. That was definitely different from the way Souda was making her feel.  
Definitely.

"Gundham touchhhh! It's a dare. If you don't I'll have to send you to the deepest depths of hell, all with the power of a cursed chili pepper!" he laughed evilly.

Gundham flushed faintly, but quickly regained composure and gave Souda an unimpressed look.  
"One who possesses such a mild and gentle aura as yourself would not even be able to banish a soul past purgatory. I do appreciate the sentiment though."

He reached out, mentally reminding himself not to freak out it's just a little friendly touching, and placed his hand on Souda's leg.  
A jolt of energy reverberated from Gundham's hand all the way up to his chest, just like when he'd held their hands before. He managed to keep a straight face, however, holding his hand on Souda's leg for a few seconds before letting go and leaning back.  
He was very proud of himself, even if his hand felt abnormally cold where it had been into contact with Souda's leg.  
Also it kind of tingled.

"See? Smooth. Gundham, it's your turn." he said and rolled down his pants again.

Gundham was currently busying himself with not freaking out and didn't even hear Souda the first time.  
He snapped to attention when Souda poked him in the arm though, muttering something about how he was suddenly feeling pretty tired.  
It wasn't a lie, and besides Gundham didn't really want to play anymore. He knew he couldn't handle a lot more of Souda's... being himself before he would inevitably get sad again.

"Oh. Okay, do you wanna get ready for bed then?" Souda asked, settling down.

Gundham nodded wearily and Sonia also voiced her agreement.  
"It's gotten pretty late, I'm afraid. It's probably for the best that we turn in for the night." She yawned briefly, lifting her hand to cover her mouth.  
"Oh my. I feel like Nanami," she joked happily.

"Another great impersonation supplied by our princess." Souda smiled and got up from the floor. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth."

Gundham leaned forward against the end of the bed as Souda left to brush his teeth, sighing to himself. After allowing himself one moment of miserable self-loathing, he pushed himself up off the ground and brushed off his pajamas.  
"I should also get ready." He told Sonia, too tired to even try to come up with a fitting simile for "brushing my teeth"

"Gundham, what's wrong?" Sonia asked carefully, not wanting to go to bed when the mood was so sour.

"Nothing." He said quickly, trying for a reassuring smile. "I am merely... fatigued. I believe the astral constellations may be obscuring my ethereal energy flow." He yawned widely.  
"I shall be back to my normal self in the morning, I assure you."

"Gundham... Please talk to me? I don't want you to hurt when I might be able to help..." she pleaded.

"I assure you, Dark Lady, there is nothing wrong," Gundham said, but the protest rang hollow even to him.  
He sighed, sitting back down and resting his head in his hands.  
"It's foolish," he mumbled quietly

"What is?" she asked softly, scooting a bit closer to him.

"I am." Gundham replied tiredly. "I simply- I cannot stop thinking about him. I am aware it's hopeless- hell, I'm not even the correct gender but I still-" He broke off, staring at the floor.  
"Do not concern yourself with my worries, Dark Lady." He said finally.  
"There is nothing you can do to affect them."

"Keep up hope, Oh Overlord of Ice. I'm sure he will come around. He just needs time. Time and support." Sonia said and offered her hand to hold.

Gundham shook his head.  
"He is not attracted to males, Sonia." He said between gritted teeth.  
"I never even stood a chance. He just wants to date you and Akane."

"You should see the way he looks at you," she said quietly. "He looks up to you with so much fondness, Gundham."

"He doesn't." Gundham snapped.  
"He does not like guys. Pretending otherwise is simply deluding myself. He may see me as adequate company, but nothing more. He's said so himself, correct?"

"Then you want to give up on him just like that?" She asked, getting angry.  
"To just give up on him like that is not only an insult to your feelings but to him as well!" she huffed.

Gundham slammed his fist on the bed in frustration.  
"Well what, pray tell, would you have me do? Keep pursuing someone who has on multiple occasions made it clear they do not want to be pursued?"  
His voice was loud with frustration and grief.  
"You, if anyone should know what it feels like to be treated like that? Correct?"  
Gundham pulled up his knees to his chest, burying his face there and trying to fight the impulse to cry.He sighed brokenly.  
"I am sorry, Sonia. Please forgive me, I did not mean to shout."  
His shoulders trembled and he felt a hot prickling of tears in his eyes but he blinked them away quickly.  
"I- I just... Please, do not try to convince me it isn't hopeless."

"But it's not-" she tried to tell him.

"I'm guessing you don't want me here tonight then... Sorry if I made anything awkward today."  
Souda stepped out of the bathroom and immediately made a beeline for the front door, only stopping to put on his shoes.

Gundham looked up from his hiding place, a sinking feeling in his gut. He'd done exactly what he'd wanted to avoid. He'd pushed his friends into pitying him and now they didn't even want to look at him before.  
Of course. It was just as his father had told him. Nobody wanted to be friends with a pathetic weakling like him.  
He tried to get up, to apologize and beg his friends not to leave him, but his body was rooted to the spot. He felt nauseous and tired, and his breathing came in short huffs.  
All he could do was sit there, as he was left completely alone once again.

Sonia followed him to the doorway, distressed but didn't follow him. It wasn't her place to step in.  
"Gundham, go after him!" She pleaded. 

Gundham felt tired and weak, and certainly knew that going after Souda would only make things worse. It was natural- he was a pathetic person after all. Why would Souda even-  
Sonia's words hit him like a dagger to the chest, and he would have instinctively recoiled if he weren't in such a guarded position.  
As it was, he blinked up at her distressed expression, feeling a cold dread wash over himself.  
Souda's insistance that he keep her save rang through his mind, and Gundham realized that the same most certainly applied to the mechanic as well.  
Unsteadily, he got to his feet, rushing out of the cabin without even bothering to put on shoes.

Souda had stopped outside his cottage, not wanting to go inside just yet. His head was already in turmoil, and his feelings more so.  
He was sad, his friend was sad and had had to give up on his crush, and Sonia on her at that. He was angry, at Gundham for breaking his heart, for not giving him a chance, and for breaking Sonia's heart.  
He was confused because for some reason he was happy that Gundham liked him, he just didn't get why that made him happy. Besides, he liked Sonia, and he didn't like Gundham in the same way as Sonia. But he still- he had to admit that he was interested in Gundham in a completely different way than his other friends.  
And he felt awkward, because overhearing your friend talking about their not-so-platonic feelings for you kinda does that. 

He didn't know how to feel and that just made him even more miserable.

Gundham stepped out on the wooden walkway and felt his stomach physically lurch as he spotted Souda standing by his cottage, head pressed against the green door and seemingly catching his breath. Was it really okay for Gundham to bother him after he'd already rushed out?

But he couldn't go back in and face Sonia either. At the very least, he had to face the rejection so that she would at least be at peace with Souda's decision. He had never meant for her to be caught in the crossfire, but trying to imagine himself in her situation made his heart ache in sympathy.

There was nothing more to it. He had to try.

He slowed his pace to a swift walk, managing to get all the way to the bridge to Souda's cottage before he was discovered. Gundham stopped, bowed his head and took a deep breath before saying,  
"Please- at the very least allow me to explain myself."

Souda took a deep breath. He was already completely lost, and had no idea where to start going through the mess, so why not just add on extra piece into the mess. Worst case scenario it was still a complete mess, best case it solved itself.  
"Go ahead:" he said and sank to the ground outside his door.  
"Make it quick, you were tired, weren't you?"

"R-right." Gundham said. He steeled himself for rejection and began, praying that Souda would at the very least have enough pity to hear him out.  
"I am sorry. I have harbored..." He squeezed his eyes shut, "feelings of a romantic nature for you for- quite a while now. I am aware that you do not return them, and I do not wish to impose anything on you. However, keeping the secret was...difficult, and I ended up far more frustrated than I intended.  
I hurt both you and Sonia tonight, and I have no illusions that you'll forgive my transgression. I only hope you'll understand my plight, and not shut Sonia out as well. She cares deeply for you. That's all."

Gundham felt empty.  
That was the only way to describe it. It was as if the words had taken all of his emotions and will with them when they left, and now that he didn't even have them anymore he just felt drained. He would have probably sagged to the floor right there if not for Souda.  
As it was, he stood in tense silence for a moment longer, and then solemnly turned to leave. By now Sonia had probably gone back to her cottage too. At least he could lie in the darkness and feel miserable.

"Yeah... I'm going to have to think for a bit... Please don't take this as a rejection, but it's not a acceptance either- I- I need time to think." Souda said in reply.  
"It's fine, you like who you like, but I need time. I don't- I'm a bit lost right now." 

Gundham nodded wearily. "Then I shall...see you at dawn, I suppose." He stared at the ground. If this wasn't rejection, why did he feel so empty inside? Wasn't one supposed to feel nervous after confessing a crush?  
"May your dreams remain peaceful and your journey into darkness restful." He mumbled, almost mechanically.

"You too," Souda said and heaved himself off of the floor and crashed into bed, sinking into deep, frustrated thought.  
What did he feel? Why? Did he like Gundham? Was he really bi? He was straight, wasn't he, he liked girls, he'd only ever liked girls romantically as far as he could remember. The only men he'd "liked" it had been more of an idolization, did that count? It was just admiration he felt for Gundham, it wouldn't be right- he was normal, right? His dad had made sure of it. Even when he dyed his hair- he shut his eyes. He just wished he could shut off his head as well. Maybe there was some game he could play somewhere, or he could build something. He didn't want to think about it anymore. But it wouldn't be fair to Gundham, he had to think about it. Why did he even car so much what Gundham thought?  
And Sonia.  
Maybe it'd be better to reject Gundham. Then Sonia could have him, and he'd be normal again!

Gundham stumbled back to his own cottage, feeling like he was walking underwater. All of the fear, anxiety, and emotions were on a different planet altogether, far away from where they could do harm. It was almost as if he'd actually become the Overlord of Ice, ice cold and distant yet more powerful for it. Gundham imagined that all of the anguish and terror had simply frozen over inside of him.

Sonia had indeed waited for him at his cottage, but Gundham ended up tiredly telling her to leave. He was too fatigued to even concern himself with someone else. All he wanted was to curl up among the ice and darkness and never rise again.


End file.
